I had the honor of doing mission work in Tacoma, WA. We were able to work with Discovery Church. It was such an amazing experience because there were many opportunities to share about Christ everywhere we went...

My main spiritual gifts/talents are encouragement, working with kids, leadership, and singing. I was hoping maybe one of them would be useful while I was in New York. Little did I know, God had much more in store for me!...

There are many stories that could capture the essence of the work my team and I did during our journey to the camp. A big part of me didn't want to write about my journey to the Greek island or about while I was in the camp; thinking about it makes my heart ache and tears well up in my eyes...

Upon applying to Go Now Missions, I was very compelled to be able to connect with the Asian culture. I initially applied to go to the East Asia trip and upon hearing that I was not appointed there, I was confused. I felt that it was the spot the Lord wanted me to be. However, he opened a new horizon to a completely different place and it was right here in the states. It was in New York...

The real Jamaica is not the Jamaica we all go to to see some of the most beautiful coastlines or the one we stop at once while on a cruise and never look back.

The real Jamaica is my Jamaica.

It is the place where the true love of Christ our King runs rampant. The place poverty exists so extremely, but where I have met people who have loved me so immensely. The place my heart broke numerous times but was glued together by Jesus being ever-present in the very people and situations that broke it.

My Jamaica was where, on our first day, I was supposed to help build a house alongside my...

More than 100 people joined together in Matamoros on November 17 to discuss the importance of ministry along the Texas/Mexico border at a Border Summit co-hosted by Texas Baptists and the Seminario Teológico Bautista Cosme G. Montemayor...

Cooperation can be a catalyst for change and a powerful tool for community ministry. Recently, Texas Baptist Missions Foundation (TBMF) Vice President Jerry Carlisle connected a donor and a matching grant, with a new church start at just the right moment. Through connections with TBMF, the local association, church starting, and a partner church, The Church at Junius Heights is now equipped for ministry in the East Dallas community...

Texas Baptists are involved in ongoing ministry along the border between Texas and Mexico through River Ministry missionaries. On Nov. 17, Texas Baptists will join with Mexican Baptists for a Border Summit symposium in Matamoros to discuss ways to respond to the needs along the border...

When Elizabeth Mejía Laguna first came to the Buckner Family Hope Center, a Texas Baptist Hunger Offering recipient, she was shy and kept to herself. She often stayed in her home and did not interact with her neighbors...

Throughout the vast expansion of land, Robert Wheat, the director of missions for the association, wanted the churches to have a mobile resource to reach people in need of the Gospel. After months of dreaming, Wheat envisioned a ‘Life Trailer’ that was mobile and versatile for churches to utilize in reaching their communities...

Today marks the end of the final Bounce Summer 2018 Mission! It’s been a good week in the Rockport area as Bouncers finish up their projects. This week 250 students from eleven churches helped to rebuild the Rockport community...

Randy Beggs, the Worship Speaker, has been leading students through Acts. Beggs has been focusing challenging Bouncers to rethink what it means to be a witness for Christ. On Tuesday evening, Beggs explained to Bouncers that being a witness for Christ can be awkward, because the world’s purposes are different than Christ’s purposes. On Thursday evening Beggs challenged students to be a witness for Christ anytime, anywhere and to anyone...

On a hot and humid July day, a group of Bounce Student Volunteers arrived at Ms. Longoria’s home willing to repair her roof for free. The students were not merely offering Ms. Longoria their labor at no cost to her, but they had actually raised $279 to participate in Bounce for the week! A week of their summer and $279 per student seemed like a small price to pay when the students realized that Ms. Longoria would not have been able to receive help any other way...

Bouncers were sent out to their work sites in Rockport, TX this morning! Aaron Austin, one of the Mission Coordinators, led the students in a commissioning prayer before the students began their first day of work...

The eye of Hurricane Harvey passed over Rockport, TX in August 2017 leaving behind a trail of destruction. The Lord is faithful to gather these students and volunteers through Bounce to be his hands and feet, to help rebuild the Rockport community. While the students will be offering the Rockport community relief by rebuilding homes, students will also be going to their work sites with the word, that is the hope of salvation through Christ...

Homeowner Lee Garcia accepted Christ on Tuesday morning after hearing the gospel from one of the students who was repairing his roof. He said that he experienced the love of Christ through the students who were working on his home. Lee explained that he wanted to know more about living by faith so that he could teach his family the same...

Bouncers have been hard at work in Victoria, TX repairing homes that have been damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Bouncers stay at their worksites from 7am to 4pm and then return back to Northside Baptist Church for dinner and worship. Worship Speaker Casey Cockrell has been teaching the students about the power of the Holy Spirit. During worship Casey has explained how the gospel has gone viral through the power of the Holy Spirit. Videos go viral because people see them and identify them. In the same way, the gospel can go viral when others see the church in action and resonate with what they are doing; the work that students are doing in Victoria, TX this week is a great example of that!...

The Green Wiffle Team comprised of students from Stoneburg Baptist Church, Acton Baptist Church, and McGehee First Baptist Church, is repairing the roof on Ms. Lula Carroll’s home. Due to high velocity winds and rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, Ms. Lula Carroll’s roof is severely damaged. When the Team arrived at Ms. Lula Carroll’s home earlier this week they discovered that the beams in her kitchen ceiling had begun to rot, and the roof was held up by the kitchen cabinets. Ms. Lula Carroll said that every time it rained she would set several buckets in her kitchen and then later, empty out at least ten gallons of water from the buckets...

Bouncer’s headed out to their work sites for the first time today after a commissioning prayer led by Shawn Edwards, the Mission Coordinator. Bouncers were sent out to their roofing projects in Victoria just minutes away from Northside Baptist Church, where students are being housed this week...

Bouncers arrived in Victoria, TX today for the 4th Bounce Mission this summer! So far, Bounce has mobilized hundreds of students who have engaged in disaster recovery work all across Texas. The community of Victoria is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and several houses have suffered from wind damage. Because of this, all of the students this week will be repairing roofs. Bouncers will be staying at Northside Baptist Church, they same church that housed the Texas Baptist Men last August. Among the first responders, the Texas Baptist Men engaged in disaster relief work in Victoria, TX immediately after Hurricane Harvey. This week, Bouncers have the opportunity to continue in the ongoing disaster recovery effort and to follow in the footsteps of the Texas Baptist Men who went before them.&nbsp...

Most men love sports. And competition. It’s what makes basketball one of the best avenues to draw them closer to God.

Texas Baptist Men (TBM) has been capitalizing on that knowledge for almost 50 years through the Royal Ambassadors program.

“Local churches use RA to enlist men and boys to learn basketball and compete,” said Keith Mack, children and youth mission and state Royal Ambassadors and Challenges director. “It also gives them the opportunity to evangelize. It opens doors to disciple young men and help them grow in their walk in faith and testimony.”

It has been a productive week here at Bounce as students finish up at their work sites. Bouncers have had wonderful opportunities to engage the homeowners at their work sites, and two homeowners even came to Bounce worship this week! Bouncers have repaired roofs, installed sheet rock, and lay dry wall all to show these homeowners how much they love and care for them. Several Bounce Teams even went out into Dickinson neighborhoods to prayer walk in response to Eric Martinez, the Worship Speaker, encouraging students to be available for the Holy Spirit to use.&nbsp...

Evening worship has been a fruitful time for Bouncers this week. It has been a time for them to connect with God and to connect with other students. On Wednesday, Bouncers were able to participate in Concert of Prayer where they prayed individually and in groups. Students praised the Lord through songs and prayers of adoration and thanksgiving. Youth group leaders also had the opportunity to pray over each on of their students. While many youth group leaders have been praying to God for their students for some time, for many students, this may be the first time they’ve heard someone pray over them; this was a powerful moment! One student even gave her life to Christ!...

Florence Green sat on the porch of her home content despite the sounds of hammers, saws and drills. Several students wearing Bounce nail aprons and bandannas flooded her yard and were busy building a wheelchair ramp. They carefully measured, sawed and nailed pieces of wood as Ms. Florence’s two small dogs scampered around the students’ feet...

Bouncers were sent off for their first day of disaster recovery work in the Dickinson area of Houston, TX. After a Commissioning prayer led by Scott Stevens, the Missions Coordinator, students headed off to their work sites. Bouncers will be working on roof repairs, installing sheet rock and dry wall among many other things. Bouncers were filled with joy and enthusiasm at their work sites today. Groups were able to meet with their homeowners and hear their stories and how Hurricane Harvey has affected them. Bouncers were shocked to see some of the homeowners living conditions and were honored to know that they were an answer to prayer. One homeowner was so thankful for the work that Bouncers were doing on her roof that she made home made tacos for all of the students working on her home. Another neighbor to one of the work sites came over to a Bounce Team and let them know that she was receiving a liver transplant today. Bouncers were able to pray for her and she was able to pray for them; over all it was an encouraging time.&nbsp...

Students have arrived in Pasadena ready for a weeks worth of disaster recovery work in the Houston area. Bouncer's will be rebuilding communities with the hope of restoring hope to homeowners who have lost so much in the after math of Harvey. Above all, Bouncers will seek to reflect the love of Christ this week as they install sheet rock and repair roofs. Bouncers will be the hands and feet of Christ as they seek to meet the needs of those in the Houston area.&nbsp...

Bouncers have had a great week here in Kingwood, TX! Students have been hard at work helping homeowners bounce back from Hurricane Harvey. While it is almost a year later, homeowners are still trying to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The work that students have been doing this week will have a lasting impact in this community. A majority of the Bouncers are from the Houston area, and so the work they have done this week has been deeply personal for them. Our hope is that students would continue to live pour into their communities and love their neighbor even after this week ends.&nbsp...

Bouncers have had a busy week helping homeowners who are still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. A group of students in New Caney, TX have been installing sheet rock and repairing the ceiling of Ms. Mary's home. Mary's home was submerged in over eight feet of water due to flooding from the San Jacinto River. She and her husband tried to salvage any furniture they could, but the flood destroyed nearly everything that they owned. Mary and her husband waded out in waist high water to a rescue boat which took them to a local shelter. Mary is still trying to rebuild her home almost a year later and she is thankful for the work that Bouncers are doing on her home this week.&nbsp...

Bouncers continue at their work sites in Kingwood, TX. A group of Bouncers is working at Camp Holy Wild installing sheet rock. The work that these Bouncers are doing this week will have a lasting impact on those who use Camp Holy Wild's facilities for youth camps and retreats.

Bouncers work out in the community from 7am to 4pm, and then return to Kingwood First Baptist Church for a hot shower, dinner, and worship. Bouncers participated in a Concert of Prayer tonight, where the sought the Lord through individual and group prayer. Brian Pearce, the Missions Coordinator, encouraged Bouncers to live a life marked by intimate prayer even after their week at Bounce.&nbsp...

Today students were sent out into Kingwood, TX to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing the gospel while rebuilding homes. Brian Pearce, the Mission Coordinator, prayed over the students before he sent them out to their work sites for the week. Brian encouraged the students to consider making disaster recovery work a habit in their life so that the Church may be known for the way that it is quick to help those in need. The Collegiate Staff waved students good-bye as they left Kingwood First Baptist Church. The majority of the Teams served in trailer parks either doing heavy demolition work or installing metal roofs. Bouncers maintained positive attitudes even amidst the heavy rain.&nbsp...

"...there's a sense of pride and accomplishment for being at this university, but there's also this loneliness that comes with that. It's not loneliness like I see back at the University of Texas. No, it's loneliness without a purpose...

Bouncers arrived today in Kingwood, TX! Kingwood First Baptist Church, where students will be housed this week, has been participating in Bounce disaster recovery work for several years, but when Harvey hit, several of their church members' homes where affected. While members of Kingwood First Baptist Church experienced damaged and flooding to their own homes, they were quick to respond to the needs of those in their community. The youth from Kingwood First Baptist Church used the skills that they had learned from doing disaster recovery work through Bounce to respond to the needs of those in their community. Many of them know the immense personal loss that comes from the aftermath of a storm like Hurricane Harvey and so they are overjoyed that they can serve others in the Kingwood community in this way. The Kingwood students are filled with enthusiasm and are prepared to go out into this week and build up homeowners through the work that they will be doing.&nbsp...

Students completed their final day of disaster recovery work in Nederland, TX! Students completed two roofs in the rain, and installed sheet rock and cabinets. Today teams presented their homeowners with a team picture and a Bible. Homeowners have felt immensely loved by these students'service. This week Bounce students had over 54 spiritual conversations, 16 gospel presentation, and 164 acts of kindness. Teams have built one another up, challenged each other and encouraged each other. Those teams who finished their projects early went to assist other teams at their work sites.&nbsp...

Bouncers have made tremendous progress at their work sites this week! Today students and Bounce volunteers worked through rain to complete the roofs at their work sites. Students and Bounce volunteers have experienced humidity, heat, and rain, and through it all they have maintained a great attitude and are now close to completion at their work sites!...

Bouncers have made progress at their work sites this week in Nederland, Port Arthur and Orange Texas. The "Blue Dodge" Team has been hard at work at a location in Groves, TX where they have been doing inside demolition work. The Team has spent most of their time installing cabinets, which has proved challenging. Though there have been set backs in the group with the cabinet installation, the group has maintained a positive attitude...

Bouncers were commissioned this morning in Nederland, TX by Aaron Austin the Mission Coordinator. Bouncers woke up early this morning for breakfast at 6 am, and then were sent off to their work sites for the week. Aaron led the Bouncers in prayer and reminded them that they will serve as a light to those in Nederland and and Port Arthur, TX this week...

Go Now Orientation weekend has just ended and I think it’s safe to say everyone involved gained something from attending. Before attending orientation, I was overwhelmed with worry about many different things. What would we learn? What if I don’t fit in? What if I am not capable or equipped to do the tasks presented to us?...

Food. Water. Shelter. All things that most of us would agree are at the most basic level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Yet many people spend their lives without the assurance of these necessities.&nbsp...

When Gaston Oaks Baptist Church faced the impending reality of closing its doors for good, leadership in the church sought to utilize the resources and property the Lord had given them to keep their ministry alive. The result was a reimagined ministry that would reach the nations right in their neighborhood. They named this new endeavor the Gaston Christian Center....

The combined missions efforts of Texas Baptists over Spring Break involved more than 1,400 middle, high school and college students engaged in ministry across the United States. Projects ranged from rebuilding homes in Houston damaged by Hurricane Harvey, providing free van rides and pancakes to fellow college students in South Padre Island and engaging in evangelistic efforts alongside church planters in New York City...

I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Discovery Weekend for Go Now Missions from February 16-18. During those three days I learned a lot. I learned to trust in God, to listen to what He was telling me and to follow my heart. I went into the weekend with a feeling that I was supposed to go to a specific place. ...

In the last few years of college, I have heard a lot about spiritual warfare. We have had workshops about it at our BSM and Go Now training events, and I have talked about it with several friends who have served in various parts of the world. I still don’t completely understand what the Bible explains as our spiritual battle with things unseen, but I can definitely say that the Lord is teaching me a lot about the real war for people’s souls.

In December, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Georgia and serve at a Pregnancy Crisis Center for a week. This ministry (called The...

The Impact Center at Christian Family Baptist Church in San Antonio ministers to local military members and their families each month through a feeding center.

“We work with veterans and active duty military - those are our primary clients,” said Christian Family Baptist Church Pastor Rob Johnson, a retired military veteran. “That’s always been the DNA of our ministry going on 15 years.”

"from the beginning, the key focus was to meet the needs in the community and make disciples"

The Impact Center, which is a Texas Baptist Hunger Offering ministry recipient, aims to feed clients...

The First Baptist Church of Valley Mills sits atop a hill in a community of around 1,200 residents. While the church has engaged in ongoing community ministry since its inception, Pastor John Wheatley was interested in finding new ways to minister. He approached the Baylor University School of Social Work and was soon connected with Travis Engel, a social work intern who began serving with the church in the fall of 2016.

One of Engel’s first tasks was to conduct a community assessment by creating an asset map of the community with the help of an assessment team which was made up of people from the church and the community...

It was Christmas morning. There were 10 of us crowded into my grandmother’s toasty living room. The torn wrapping paper was piled high and the folded gift bags were stacked neatly to return to the box for next year. The smell of bacon and sausage filled the air and each of us sifted back through our hauls to see just how good Santa was this year...

"M-a-r-i-n-aaaaaaa! Why we have to do math? My brain can't handle too much math. We always do math." These are the words of one of the girls I'm working with. Her name is Atlehang. She is 13 years old and has been living in Restoring Hope Village for more than six years. She is one of the people who has impacted me the most in this trip. Knowing her past and seeing where she is right now, I can see how God is working in her. When they rescued her, she was living in very bad conditions. But with care and love, she is now a healthy young girl with new vision and purpose for her life.

“I’m in New York City sitting in a room. It’s 10:00 a.m. and the CFO for the company walks in, and we knew that something was really wrong,” Peter Muriungi explained. “He said, ‘We have a problem, but everything will be fine.’ By 5:00 that evening, about $3 billion worth of investments were withdrawn as people called to get their money back. I got on a plane Thursday morning. I returned home Friday, and the company was sold for $2 per share. All my money and all I had ever done was in that company. That’s all I knew, so the crisis was probably the most dramatic change in my life.”

Every summer my family heads to the beach for a week to relax and recharge. The waves provide never-ending delight for our children. Smiles stretch across their tanned faces throughout our time together. Before leaving this past summer, I took our aged GMC Yukon in for an inspection. Once the Yukon passed inspection, the West family was on its way. The trip went routinely. I knew the way.

Along the route we stopped at a gas station and I began to fill the tank. As I finished cleaning the windows, the pump shut off, but something was wrong. Unbeknownst to...

Located west of Decatur, Bridgeport is a town of 6,500 people. Though it’s small in size, residents like Martha Montejano are working to make a significant difference.

Montejano’s past was marked with difficulties. However, through the Lord’s redemption in her own life, Montejano has allowed her love for Christ and deep understanding of what it’s like to grow up lacking to drive her to be a light in her community.

Ten years ago, as she was going about her normal routine at her hair salon, The Hair Shop, Berniece Landers walked in for her first appointment. She sat down in Montejano’s chair and shared about Pleasant View Baptist...

ACUNA - Dr. Luis Arturo Davila has two demanding medical jobs, and also finds time to volunteer at his church, lead a Bible study for his patients and spend two weekends a month doing medical clinics for the impoverished in Acuna, Mexico through Texas Baptists River Ministry.

“We work all morning, sometimes 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. One time we saw as many as 200 patients in one day,” said Davila, who serves with his wife, Nurse Imelda Cruz de Davila.

Davila, 50, has worked in the hospital for 26 years and is only two years from retirement, but shows no sign of slowing down.

I met Nancy when she started her ministry to prisoners. We had lost touch years ago, when Nancy was transferred to Las Islas Marías, a prison where people have little contact with the outside world and usually spend the rest of their lives.

Nancy had had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Lord, and this is where he wanted her to be.

He used this time to mold and shape her life. Although she had no Bible, she started...

John writes about the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus, in the Gospel of John and most the focus is how He rescued her from sin. But have you ever stopped to think about why Samaria? Why that woman?

I spent this last summer in the Middle East. I met a friend who drew me back to this story over and over again. She was beautiful and kind, eclipsing all the generosity the region is known for.

One evening she invited two friends and I to the evening breaking of fast during Ramadan. After eating, we sat around, played with her toddler brother, and chatted. I asked her what her greatest dream in life was, and the...

I have spent a chunk of my life working with children in various aspects. When I went off to college, I learned the important skill of investing in people and through multiple interventions by God, I finally started investing time in children.

This summer has been full of investing in children, and God has really shown me lately how important it is. You see, investing in all people is important and needed. We should definitely do that with people of all races, nationalities and ages, but when we invest in children, we get the unique opportunity to be apart of building their foundation and building their frame of reference.

In West Africa, people walk around leisurely and talk to everyone they encounter to show them they are important. They do this a lot, so now that we have become more a part of their community, we get to do it as well. It affords us the opportunity to tell stories about Jesus.

One evening, we were making a circuit of the compounds at the far end of our village. We left one compound after an hour and a half of talking and we were feeling really discouraged. We wanted them to know the truth so badly and it seemed like they're trying to understand but something was in the way. As we walked through another compound...

Texas Baptists’ new Mission initiative, the Missionary Adoption Program (MAP), exists to partner churches in Texas with churches in Brazil to jointly sponsor missionaries. These missionaries focus on evangelism, discipleship and church planting.

In other words, “MAP is about planting churches intentionally with indigenous peoples,” said Jair Campos, director of Texas Baptists’ MAP.

Campos, a native of Brazil, has experience as a missionary in Europe. While he was overseas, individuals from his church decided to sponsor him financially to ensure that he could continue his work without any worry.

God is good. He truly is strong when we are weak (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Today was my lowest day yet. I felt lonely. I felt weak. I felt bitterness. I continued thinking of home, family and friends. I felt discouraged.

But, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Thank you, Lord, for my national teammate David. Our program today got cancelled, so David came over around 13:30 so we could look for some ministry opportunities. Before he came and before we left, I prayed that God would glorify himself in whatever we did. I prayed that he would make...

Jinjoo Oh is a university student. She works two jobs, has a curiosity for new cultures, and she is active in her local church. She has a deep love for God and missions with a smile that radiates. She feels lonely sometimes, but clings to prayer. She had an experience this summer that redefined and expanded her view of our God.

While she is a college summer missionary serving with Go Now missions, she is not from Texas or even from America. Jinjoo is from South Korea.

Jinjoo traveled 6,777 miles from South Korea to Texas, arriving in Austin on May 29. Through the summer, she served with youth and children at...

And that’s a wrap in Waco and for Summer 2017. We are impressed by the work that was completed by our BOUNCERS and proud of the mark they have left on this community and its residents. We want to thank Cristoval Baptist Church, Crossroads Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church Lampasas for participating and serving with us this week. Our BOUNCE staff hopes you all have safe travels back home, and that you would continue serving even after this week.

This week would not be possible without the work of our coordinators and partners in the community. We would like to thank Aaron Austin for his work as Mission Coordinator, as...

BOUNCERS are moving right along at their worksite. We continue to have media coverage, which helps spread the word, not only of the gospel, but of the need for service in this community. Our participants have been noticed by neighbors and others in the community, and our hope is that this work would continue even after BOUNCE is gone.

Worship this week has also been exceptional. Our BOUNCE staff enjoys joining in worship with our participants, listening to them sing, read scripture and pray during the service. It has been a great way to wrap up each day of work.

Wednesday in Waco saw some help from our BOUNCE staff today! Some of us went out to worksites to help teams with some roofing projects. It is awesome to see our staff working side by side with our BOUNCERS.

Tonight at worship, BOUNCERS participated in a Concert of Prayer. This is a time when students and student leaders have the opportunity to worship through guided prayer for their neighbors and friends. This is one of our favorite nights, and we love to hear the testimonies of both students and student leaders alike about how they have gone back home to minister to the “least” in their schools, churches, and communities...

Participants had an early start as they met at 7am after breakfast for GO TIME. This is an opportunity for our BOUNCE staff to commission these participants as they go out and serve with the love of Christ. BOUNCERS circled up and Aaron Austin, our Mission Coordinator, prayed over the teams as they begin work this week. BOUNCE staff joined in prayer and waved bye as teams left for their worksites.

Tonight at worship, our BOUNCE offering was collected. The offering this year is supporting the Missionary Adoption Program, and will be used to buy a small river boat for indigenous Brazilian Amazon missionaries!

Baby Benjamin was abandoned on the side of the road wearing nothing but a small white blanket and bearing a note saying that anyone who wanted him, could have him.

“He was found by the villagers who passed by the road and informed the local authority,” said Rosy Lyn Htut, caseworker for Love for Myanmar. “They took the baby to one of our children’s homes called Kid’s Life.

“The home caregiver once showed me the baby photo when they first found him. He was so skinny, having sores on his whole body. He was about to die, and he couldn't even cry because not enough strength.”

Our last mission of the summer has started off well! All churches arrived safely and without incident to Waco, Texas this afternoon. BOUNCERS are checked-in and ready to serve the community through rehabilitation projects this week.

BOUNCERS participated in BOUNCE Bash this afternoon, which included meeting the staff and spending time learning the BOUNCE guidelines through a game of Kerplunk! Later, we gathered for worship and heard from our Worship Speaker, Aaron Austin. He challenged the participants enter the week with the intent to serve, just as Jesus did on earth.

BOUNCE is in Waco for the last week of summer missions. Our BOUNCE staff is excited to welcome participants this Monday. We are ready to see Christoval Baptist Church of Christoval, First Baptist Church of Lampasas, and Crossroads Baptist Church of The Woodlands! Columbus Avenue Baptist Church is hosting 60 students and student leaders this week.

That’s a wrap here in Jennings, Louisiana! Our teams finished all of their projects, receiving more than just sunburns and sore hands. Through their service this week they have received blessings from the residents and communities here.

One resident was moved to tears today as she returned home from work to see her finished house. Lake Arthur resident Victoria and her seven month old received a new roof and paint job to their damaged house. She was very grateful for the work of our BOUNCERS and will continue to share her store of restored hope to her coworkers and neighbors.

BOUNCERS continue to tell us their “Wow Moments” and share their stories of love and encouragement to the residents of Jennings. Today, one team helped a family push their car out of traffic in order to fix it. Other teams have stories of decisions being made by residents and participants alike.

Tonight at worship, Eric Martinez our Worship Speaker, had students and adults volunteer to act out the passage. As we talked about not neglecting our neighbors, BOUNCERS saw a live action skit of the parable of the good Samaritan. While it was fun and entertaining, we were challenged to live out scripture and not neglect those around...

When I think of my experience at the University of Texas at Austin, I think of more than my major, my classes, the all-nighters I’ve pulled and the stress I have endured. I always think of my time at the Baptist Student Ministry and how God has used the people there to shape me, challenge me, encourage me and help me pursue God with all that I am. As a young freshman, I (naively) thought that I was following Jesus pretty well and that this was how I would follow Him for the rest of my life. After all, I had been raised in the church, read my Bible most days and went on trips with my...

By Ross O’Brien, Ph.D.Director, Center for Business as MissionDallas Baptist University

It has become apparent that too many Christians in the business world believe they are an auxiliary to mission work. They think of themselves as providing means and finances, but they rarely view themselves as missionaries.

Jesus’ commandments to serve others in Matthew 25 and to make disciples among all peoples in Matthew 28 were not directed solely to those employed by churches or mission agencies.

Incredibly, all followers of Jesus have the privilege and responsibility of serving God in these ways, and He has equipped each one of us with...

In January, members of Upendo Baptist Church in Garland gathered to pray and fast that God would grow their church.

Only a week later, Pastor Shadrack Ruto was connected to 60 people in search of a new church home. The initial three visitors to the church were not from a Kenyan background, like the majority of the church membership, but were refugees from the Central African Republic who lived within 10 miles of the church. The families had recently moved to the United States from refugee camps. Ruto heard story after story of trauma and need from the families and the church leaders gathered to see how they could help.

Every Wednesday, at least 300 people line up outside of New Light Baptist Church of Lubbock for a sack lunch. They receive food, but are also served a helping of love, respect and kindness.

“I don’t care what they look like or what their hygiene is like, we will treat them with dignity and respect,” said New Light Baptist Church Pastor Kenneth Jackson. “I think a lot of them are shocked by the reception they get; but we are Christians so we are supposed to be full of compassion.”

The Love and Lunch program started in 2008 with a distribution of 15 sack lunches. Jackson said 337 were...

Recovery efforts continue to move along at worksite today. BOUNCE has twelve teams in Jennings and surrounding communities. Houses were chosen based on word of mouth, through members in FBC Jennings, Carey Baptist Association, and other organizations that are continuing to help resident recover from last year’s flood.

Due to some storms in the area, some teams had to briefly work in the rain. However, BOUNCERS are still working hard all day. Some teams are close to finishing and may have a chance to begin work on other houses tomorrow. All teams hope to have as many projects completed by the end of the week!

Today started well with Go Time! This morning Eric Martinez, our worship speaker for the week, prayed over and commissioned our BOUNCERS as they headed out to their worksites. As vans and buses lined up to leave, the BOUNCE staff waved goodbye to participants as they left.

This week there are twelve worksites in the Jennings area, including an elementary school in Elton. BOUNCERS will be working on roofs, installing flooring, painting and doing any other projects needed at their worksite.

This evening at worship we had our BOUNCE mission offering. The offering this summer is going to help buy a boat for indigenous...

This week we are in Jennings, Louisiana serving flood victims. It has been a rainy start, but all churches arrived safely to First Baptist Jennings this afternoon. We want to welcome Faith Family Fellowship from Brownfield, Texas, First Baptist Church of Beeville, First Baptist Church of El Paso, Parkway Hills Baptist Church of Plano, Texas, Texoma Cowboy Church of Wichita Falls, Texas, and WestWind Church of Keller, Texas.

Earlier this evening, BOUNCE students participated in BOUNCE Bash, while student leaders went out for a group leader meeting with Michelle Merriott, our Mission Coordinator! Students had fun learning...

BOUNCE is back after a week break! We are ready to welcome churches from all over the state of Texas to come and serve residents of Jennings. These residents experienced the flood from August 2016 and are still seeking help on repairs for their homes.

BOUNCE is always excited to partner with local community members, and this week we are serving with First Baptist Church Jennings, who are our hosts for the week! We are also partnering with Carey Baptist Association and area churches, and the Louisiana Baptist Convention. We are eager to see the love of Christ being shown this week through these participants.

These first days of our mission trip we have been living in an apartment complex very similar to the one that I live at back home. It is a two-bedroom apartment composed of a kitchen, living room, bathroom and even a TV. The only difference is that I do not have as many distractions as I would in my apartment back home.

Another similarity that we have (and many of us have) is our neighbors–those people which we see every morning and sometimes throughout the day. However, there are some slight differences with these neighbors. For example, they tend to dress in very vivid colors with different kind of fabrics...

10:40 p.m. – My eyes want to crumble. My body is ready to shatter with just one touch. I’ve never felt so drained. I’ve never felt so exhausted. Yet, I’m content. I’m not worried about how tomorrow goes, or what I’ll have to do.

I feel at peace with the fact that it is an honor to serve here and build these relationships. It is an honor to reflect Christ’s light onto all of these children, teens and adults. It is an honor to feel like I am about to collapse, but still feel the Holy Spirit working in me, pushing me through it. It is an honor spending the summer working my soon to be shattered body, and slowly...

ARLINGTON - Originally from India, Lokesh Ganta is a master’s student at Texas A&M Kingsville who came to the United States to study engineering. With many financial obligations, Lokesh was prepared to work all summer to earn tuition money for the upcoming fall semester. Little did he know how the Lord would work in his life to change the course of his summer.

That’s a wrap in Baton Rouge. All 12 teams helped flood victims and families gain ground with renovations all while serving with the love of Christ. BOUNCERS worked hard each day and have been a huge blessing to this community. There were many conversations with locals that involved sharing the gospel and passing out bibles. We cannot wait to see what these churches do when they get back home and continue serving their own community.

This week would not have been possible without the preparation and work from our coordinators. We want to thank Brian Pearce for leading this week as our Mission Coordinator, Charles Carroll for...

Today was another wet day as BOUNCERS continued working on projects at their worksites. Each team is closer to finishing tomorrow, despite the heavy rains all day. Some projects had to take a break between storms, but every team has been working hard all week.

Worship this week has been full of the Holy Spirit. Dan has done a great job leading BOUNCERS in songs and prayer each night. Wednesday night was Concert of Prayer, a service of worship through song, silence, scripture reading, and various forms of prayer. BOUNCERS responded well to the service, and students and adults alike admitted that God was present during the...

Due to some storms in the area, some teams had to briefly work in the rain. However, because most of the work is being done on the inside of houses, BOUNCERS were still able to continue work. All teams hope to have each house completed by the end of the week!

It’s Tuesday and that means ministry teams completed their first day at their work sites! BOUNCERS started off the day with Go Time, where our Mission Coordinator Brian Pearce prayed over and commissioned participants as they headed out to their work sites. Baton Rouge BOUNCE has twelve ministry teams throughout the city, each doing a variety of tasks such as interior sheetrock, painting, and exterior siding, along with any other repairs homeowners need from flood damage.

Local media has been very interested in BOUNCE’s presence in Baton Rouge, as participants are aiding in ongoing recovery efforts from last year’s flooding.&nbsp...

I have made it to another weekend. It has been long. It has not been what I thought it was going to be, but here we are. There have been multiple times this week that I have said to myself “I did not sign up for this.”

Here are some examples:

I did not sign up to do data entry.

I did not sign up to clean bathrooms every Monday through Friday.

I did not sign up to live with 12 girls.

I did not sign up to live, work, worship, etc., all in the same building.

I did not sign up to listen to a pre-school child tell me a story we had to report to CPS.

BOUNCE at Baton Rouge is off to a great start. All teams have arrived safely and checked into the lodging facility. Students met BOUNCE staff in the parking lot for a game of Spikeball while group leaders registered participants. This afternoon, all participants met together for BOUNCE Bash and had fun worshipping, learning BOUNCE guidelines and getting to know one another.

Aaron Austin, this week’s worship speaker, charged the students to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He discussed the scripture of Mark 10:45 and Matthew 25. We were reminded that Jesus came to serve, and that “the served serve others”.

BOUNCE has made its way from Oklahoma to Louisiana! BOUNCERS will be serving the community of Baton Rouge this week, helping with ongoing flood recovery efforts. We are excited to welcome Kingwood First Baptist Church in Kingwood, TX, First Baptist Church Plano, TX, Northeast Baptist Church of San Antonio, TX, Second Baptist Church Corpus Christi, TX and South Main Baptist Church of Pasedena, TX.

BOUNCE appreciates Broadmoor Baptist Church for hosting BOUNCE staff and 180 students and student leaders this week. Broadmoor is also providing meals, showers, and a place for worship.

Happy Friday from our BOUNCERS here in Bartlesville! All nine teams finished projects at their worksites today and returned to the church to clean up. We ended the night with worship and the BOUNCE wrap party. We are proud of our BOUNCERS for their hard work and determination all week. The residents of Bartlesville were very pleased and blessed this week.

Samuel Middleton, a seventh-grader from South Oaks Baptist Church, said that his experience has been amazing this week. This is his second trip with BOUNCE and “it is fortunate to see residents and do the work of God”. He also added that it is a blessing to see the residents...

Bartlesville BOUNCERS have been very responsive this week in worship. From giving to the BOUNCE offering, singing along in worship, and praying for their neighbors, students and student leaders have experienced a renewal in their relationship with God.

Carlos Montoya, our Worship Speaker this week in Bartlesville, taught out of Luke 10 tonight. He challenged students to think about who their neighbors are and how they are to welcome them in as Jesus did. In order for our relationships with others, believers and non-believers alike, do be effective, our relationships with the Father first need to be in order. Last night...

Teenagers travelled to Dallas for the summer, not to shop or catch a baseball game, but to work on remodeling houses. The week of June 12-17 saw three youth groups come to the Metroplex as a part of BOUNCE Student Disaster Recovery, a Texas Baptists Missions program.

BOUNCE students worked at three locations in Dallas, which were selected by the City of Dallas’ People Helping People. One of these three homes belongs to 81-year-old Wilma Curry. Curry lived in her house since 1965 and said this was the first time anything had been done for it.

All of our BOUNCERS continued with another hard day’s work. This week we have nine worksites located in the Bartlesville and the surrounding area. One of these worksites happens to be located in Chautauqua, Kansas, just north of Bartlesville. BOUNCE staff made their rounds today, having popsicles for participants during one of their breaks this afternoon. All of these projects were specifically chosen with the opportunity for ministry, whether that is to the homeowners or surrounding neighbors.

Some of our participants this week have BOUNCED with us before. They were excited at the chance to join BOUNCE for another summer of...

With a heart for missions and church planting, members of Texoma Cowboy Church in Wichita Falls have traveled on three mission trips to Olanchito, Honduras, in efforts of planting new cowboy churches. Known as the “Christian Cowboys” to the local people, the church has sought to pour into and build relationships with the people of the community.

Their most recent trip to Honduras took place from February 27 to March 4. In past trips, members of the church have focused on evangelism and community involvement, but this third trip was unique. While watching a soccer game a few years ago in Olanchito, an idea came to Jay Lawson...

BOUNCERS were full of excitement and energy this morning at Go Time! Students and Student leaders circled up for a time of prayer and commissioning as they started their first day at the work sites. Our Construction Coordinator this week, Lonnie Hoelscher, prayed over them, and the BOUNCE staff waved goodbye as vans and trucks pulled out to serve this community.

Tonight during worship, our BOUNCE offering was collected. This offering will go to support the Missionary Adoption Program, which aids indigenous, Brazilian missionaries as they share the gospel with unreached communities in the Amazon. BOUNCE wants to raise money to...

BOUNCERS have arrived in Bartlesville! Our BOUNCE staff welcomed all of our churches and helped them get settled in for the week. Participants played Spike Ball and hung out with our collegiate staff while student leaders went through registration.

Our BOUNCERS are ready to serve the community of Bartlesville BOUNCE back from sub-standard housing conditions through various projects. These projects include several roofs, wall repair, installing cabinets, and painting.

Earlier this evening, BOUNCE students participated in BOUNCE Bash, while student leaders went out for a group leader meeting with David Scott, our Mission...

ABILENE - After the six-hour drive from Lufkin to Abilene, Roseanne Welch was thankful for the warm welcome she received as she walked in the door of the Eunice Chambless Hospitality House.

“I felt like I was coming to visit my family,” Welch said. “Everyone was so kind and welcoming from the moment we arrived. It felt like home.”

This was the first trip Welch made to visit her son, who is incarcerated in the French Robertson Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, since he was transferred from Huntsville to Abilene. As a single mom, with one son still at home, Welch’s budget was tight. Before hearing about the...

Hello Bartlesville! BOUNCE is here to have a great week of serving the community! We are ready to welcome Eastern Heights Baptist Church and New Harmony Baptist Church, both from Bartlesville. We are also ready to welcome First Baptist Church Navasota, TX, First Baptist Church Seguin, TX, Hulen Street Church of Fort Worth, TX, and South Oaks Baptist of Arlington, TX.

BOUNCE appreciates First Baptist Church Bartlesville for hosting BOUNCE staff and 72 students and student leaders this week. FBC Bartlesville is also providing meals, showers, and a place to worship for the week.

That’s a wrap for our work in Dallas this week! All three BOUNCE teams finished at their worksites today. Students and student leaders worked hard and had fun too! From painting to installing siding, BOUNCERS have learned new skills and made new friends, all while serving Christ and the community of Dallas. These BOUNCERS are excited to get back to their hometowns to start serving their communities through the rest of the summer. Overall, this week was great and the BOUNCE staff was happy to serve alongside these participants.

This week would not be possible without our wonderful coordinators and the preparation they put into...

Worship this week in Dallas has been exceptional and the BOUNCERS have participated in every way, from learning new songs, giving to our BOUNCE offering, and praying for “least of these”. Wednesday night was a Concert of Prayer, which prompted students and student leaders to pray and consider various needs and people of their community. This concert included songs, silence, Scripture reading, and audible prayers. Our BOUNCE staff also participated by reading Scripture and prompts during the service. After the service, groups were dismissed to spend time with their youth groups to consider ways to BOUNCE back home and serve their...

Dallas BOUNCERS have been hard at work each day, and are getting close to finishing at a few worksites. One homeowner, Wilma Curry, couldn’t be more thankful for the work that these BOUNCE participants are doing for her home. “It’s a blessing”, said Curry, who has been living in her home since 1965. This is the first time that her home has received renovations since she moved in. Curry’s home is one of three others receiving rehabilitation this week in the Dallas community.

At another worksite, BOUNCERS met homeowner, Eula Reece, who hugged each of the students as they came up to meet her yesterday. Homeowners are sincerely...

During our first week in Leeds, Paul and I would walk every morning from our host home to the Emmanuel Centre, the university chaplaincy headquarters. On one such walk, I became terribly aware that none of my clothes fit. At least, that was how they felt: oversized, almost oppressive, tailored for a man far more substantial than I.

In many ways, that was my ever-present struggle on this trip. The clothes never seemed to fit. I am, by nature, a shy, reserved, look-before-I-leap creature of habit with an utter lack of confidence in social interactions; Leeds called me to be a gregarious, warm, adaptable risk-taker...

Today marks the first work day of BOUNCE 2017! Participants had an early start as they met at 7am after breakfast for GO TIME. This is an opportunity for our BOUNCE staff to commission these participants as they go out and serve with the love of Christ. BOUNCERS circled up and Scott Stevens, our Mission Coordinator, prayed over the teams as they begin work this week. BOUNCE staff joined in prayer and waved bye as teams left for their worksites.

Tonight at worship, our BOUNCE offering was collected. The offering this year is supporting the Missionary Adoption Program, and will be used to buy a small river boat for indigenous...

Mission 1 at Duncanville has kicked off to a great start! All the churches have arrived safely and are settled in for a week of serving. BOUNCE staff met the churches as they arrived and played some Spike Ball as group leaders checked-in. BOUNCERS are ready to help the community of Dallas BOUNCE back from poor housing conditions through rehabilitation efforts.

Students participated in BOUNCE Bash this afternoon and had fun playing a few rounds of Kerplunk, while learning some of our BOUNCE guidelines! Dan, this week’s worship leader, led us in a great time of worship, and the Mission Moment highlighted our BOUNCE offering to...

Summer 2017 has arrived and your BOUNCE staff has been preparing for this summer for a while. Our first Mission is in Duncanville, Texas, and we are ready to welcome Carmel Baptist Church from Lindale, Texas, Crestview Baptist Church from San Antonio, Texas, and Wylie Baptist Church from Abilene, Texas.

Today marks one week since we left Dallas for this great adventure! Each day, we wake up to prayer walk and evangelize in the slums from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The people here are friendly and willing to talk. Let me share one encouraging story with you before we head out for another day.

On our second day of evangelizing in the slums, we met a woman who said we could pray and share the Good News with her. She listened politely but was not interested.

While we were talking to her, however, the woman who lived next door popped her head out the door and waved for us to come in. We went in with our translator and found out that this...

“The genius of the Great Commission is that every one of us is entrusted with the Gospel, and we can share it and teach others to share it,” Gary Stidham, BSM Director at the University of Texas at Arlington, shared with a room filled with Go Now student missionaries and their family members on May 21.

Two hundred thirty students were commissioned during the Go Now Missions Commissioning service, held at Dallas Baptist University, with a total of 278 students to serve on mission trips during the summer. The Go Now students completed a weekend of training and orientation in advance of the commissioning.

“I was scared to walk into my bathroom because the floor made a popping sound when I stepped on it and I was afraid I was going to fall through,” she said. “There was a lot of air coming into the house from outside and the ceiling was leaking.”

Steadman applied for help through the City of Marshall and was chosen to receive home renovations through the Neighborhood Renewal Initiative. The initiative is a collaboration between the City of Marshall and East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) to pour into the local community.

When 19-year-old Angela* came to the Life Design Program, a Buckner Children & Family Services program supported by Baylor Scott & White Health, she was seven months pregnant and had nowhere to live. She moved back to Dallas after dropping out of college due to her unintended pregnancy and felt that plans for her life had taken a drastic detour.

Angela was bouncing from place to place, sleeping on friends’ couches, all the while continuing to progress in her pregnancy. She felt like her world had been turned upside down and struggled with insecurity and shame. Expressing feelings of failure and disappointment about her past...

Outreach in any community begins with intentionality - caring for others and finding ways to share Jesus in a clear, concise way. The summer months provide an especially unique opportunity for churches to impact the lives of those around them. While the best outreach ideas often come from you and those in your church, your friends at Texas Baptists are always available to come alongside and help find more ways to make an impact in your community. Contact the missions team to learn more, or try one of the ideas below.

Even as a small child, Terri knew the meaning of hunger. She was poor for as far back as she could remember. Her mom resorted to writing hot checks to buy food and was eventually imprisoned for it.

Her early life took Terri from one challenge to the next. She dropped out of school in 7th grade. At 14, she started drinking and three years later she was using hard drugs.

By age 40, Terri had already been in more than one abusive relationship and served a 2.5 year prison sentence for a drug charge. Not long after, she became pregnant. Unsure what her future held and with a new life on the way to care for, Terri sought help. She...

Four Texas Baptists leaders recently traveled to Belem, Brazil, to attend the Brazilian Baptist Convention to formalize the partnership between the two conventions for the Missionary Adoption Program (MAP). Texas Baptists Executive Director David Hardage was accompanied by Danny Reeves, Texas Baptists president, Josue Valerio, director of missions and Jair Campos, director of MAP for Texas Baptists.

“I was so thankful to express, on behalf of our Texas Baptists family, how deeply committed we are to seeing the lost evangelized in the Amazon region,” said Reeves, pastor of First Baptist Church of Corsicana.

Many people who live in Agua Dulce, a small community in the southeast region of El Paso, have limited access to food and medical care. A large percentage of the community consists of undocumented immigrants and many families do not have fathers and husbands to provide for basic needs. Texas Baptists River Ministry Coordinator Jesus Galarza has worked around Agua Dulce for several years and has built trust with the residents in order to help meet basic needs.

This spring, Galarza coordinated a medical mission trip with students and physicians from UT-Southwestern Medical Center Baptist Student Ministry to provide medical...

I have lived in Houston for about three years now, and it has become home to me. I am in love with the myriad of cultures that live here. They stand out in the various neighborhoods that are somehow pushed together in a way that creates unlikely neighbors out of people from all over the world. I am still enchanted when, even from the outside, I get to watch people celebrating in ways that are different from my own experiences.

Houston is also a significant place in my journey of knowing Yahweh. God has used this place and the people here to teach me to grieve the losses I have accumulated throughout my life. I accepted Jesus and...

Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) students from the University of Houston sacrificed their spring break to share God’s love and generosity with others all over Texas. Some spent the week building relationships with international students, others dedicated their vacation to local Houston ministries and still other students made their way to South Padre Island to serve at Beach Reach.

UH students joined other missionaries from all over Texas to serve at Beach Reach, an annual mission experience that reaches thousands of college students that flock to the beach in search of a good time. More than 1,000 missionaries served at Beach Reach...

Since 1980, students from universities from across the country, especially Texas Baptists college ministries, have traveled to South Padre Island during Spring Break. The UTEP Baptist Student Ministry has made the trek down to South Padre Island for eight years. Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why on earth would a Christian Baptist organization go party it up in Padre?” Well the answer is they wouldn’t. It is quite the opposite, actually.

The Baptist Student Ministry students are there to work. This is a mission trip called Beach Reach. South Padre Island is an incredibly popular spot for students on spring break. People from...

DALLAS – More than 200 Dallas Baptist University students spent their Spring Break 2017 traveling the country and the world building houses, providing safe rides, hosting camps, studying leadership and exploring international business.

For the fourth year in a row, a group of 21 students headed to Washington, D.C. with the Gary Cook School of Leadership to explore the legacy of leadership as observed in the lives of the nation’s Founding Fathers. They toured historic sites, such as the Lincoln Memorial, the National Cathedral, Williamsburg, Mount Vernon and many more, stopping at each location to reflect on the men and women who...

Even as a veteran Beach Reacher, walking the sands at Rockstar Beach intimidated me. Women danced all around. Rap music blared from the speakers on my right. A cloud of smoke drifted by as I made my way through the crowd of strangers. I felt out of my element, but I did not venture to South Padre Island for the purpose of remaining comfortable. I refocused my mind and pressed on.

I walked the shoreline seeking opportunities for conversation. Fixed atop crude PVC contraptions, collegiate flags flew high above the crowd. My eyes scanned the horizon, and I noticed various clusters of students. I wandered over to a Harvard flag and...

Beach Reach is one of the most powerful, exhausting and challenging mission trips that college students can experience during their spring break. There are some absolutely incredible things that happen throughout this trip that students can expect to be part of. During this week, I have personally seen God show up and show his power and goodness to those on South Padre Island. However, I believe there a few things students should know in advance.

The first thing that students should be informed of before making the trip to the Southern tip of Texas for the week is the very intense spiritual warfare that takes place on the island...

“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts” Prov. 17:3 (NASB)

Last week, I participated in a mission trip in my own city of Houston. Although I have missionary in my intern title, I hadn’t been a part of a short-term mission experience since the beginning of college. These past experiences honestly left me with some residual issues of identity and inadequacy.

As the time approached for me to lead a couple of the college students during Spring Break, I carried some anxiety, but also a strong desire not to bring my mission trip baggage along for the week. After talking to my counselor, I...

Can one week really change the course of your life? That’s the question Daniel Ortiz was asking when he heard about a short-term missions opportunity through Go Now Missions.

Ortiz, a sophomore nursing student at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), had been interested in serving through missions, but was unsure about heading overseas at this time in his life. When he learned of an opportunity to serve in Brownsville, Texas for a week during the Christmas break, Ortiz was excited—and curious.

“I’d hear things like, ‘These trips will change your life!’ and I used to wonder how that was really possible,” Ortiz recalls...

Soontorn Inthayok is a day laborer and part-time guard, serving as the primary wage-earner for his family in Northern Thailand. The 49-year-old provides for his older sister, who is mentally disabled, and his son, who is attending technical college. He also overcomes his personal disability to bring home earnings of approximately $300 US dollars per month. While Soontorn works extremely hard, often the monthly expenses of food, utilities and tuition are more than what he earns.

When Soontorn learned he was selected to participate in the Social Development and Service Unit (SDSU) Chicken and Cattle Farming Project, he was elated...

Monica was like a lot of women who come to the growing network of house churches Paul Gonzales leads on the west side of San Antonio. She was struggling in her relationship with her live-in boyfriend of 10 years and didn’t know where to turn.

She found support and encouragement from the roughly 20 Christians who gathered weekly. They talked about what God desires in a relationship between a man and a woman, including marriage.

Little by little, she shared what she was learning with her boyfriend, Matthew Flores. Once or twice he even acquiesced to her requests to come with her to church. After a year, Gonzales married the couple...

AUSTIN - Christian engagement in politics and culture should be directed by a love of God and practice of discipleship, attendees learned at the recent Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission Advocacy Day.

The event, held at Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin on Feb. 28, featured keynote speakers Gabe Lyons, founder of Q and co-author of Good Faith, and Vincent Bacote, associate professor of theology and director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College.

“The purpose of Advocacy Day is to help Christians and particularly Texas Baptists engage in public policy and politics from a biblical worldview,” said...

This January, the Dallas Baptist University dance team, the Patriettes, travelled to Northern England to spend a week in ministry, using their gift of dance to spread the love of Christ.

The trip was the second time the team has traveled overseas as a part of DBU Athletics’ Global Sports Mission Initiative program, allowing various athletic teams to travel internationally on mission once every four years. This year, the team connected with UKUSA Ministries and served in the communities of Teeside and York.

The team spent the week in area schools, assisting as guest instructors in dance, drama and religious education classes...

It is rare to find third graders who are eager to eat their fruits and vegetables, but every day 9-year-old José Chanco excitedly tells his family about the nutritious lunch he eats at the Operación San Andrés’ educational enrichment program for children in Collique, Lima, Peru.

José attends Fe y Alegría, a local primary school. He is one of about 170 children served through two OSA hunger alleviation programs.

Through the Living Water-OSA program, he is able to spend weekday mornings at OSA House. He benefits not only from healthy lunches that include fruit, vegetables, meat, and rice but also gets guidance...

Since Natalie Rodriguez was 12-years-old, Texas Baptists have invested in Natalie Rodriguez in multiple, life-changing ways.

At the age of one, Natalie was placed in the foster care system, where she grew up living in multiple homes with her younger sister. Then, in 1996, she and her sister were brought to the Texas Baptist Children’s Home. During her first few months, she tried to adjust to new surroundings but was very overwhelmed and unsure about the permanency of her new home.

“I heard about Jesus daily, but I was so upset,” Natalie said. “I wasn’t ready for someone to actually be there for me.”

God moved mountains this Christmas Break. When I got the email that I would be spending two weeks in a foreign land, with foreign people, doing something something completely out of the ordinary, my nerves went through the roof.

During my trip to East Asia, I got the chance to work alongside some of the most servant-hearted people I have ever met. Christ could not have blessed me with a better group to travel across the world with.

A bakery that started it all has changed everything. From the simple baking of a scone, girls have been unshackled and have received the grace of the most high God. By getting to spread the love of...

Hector Flores’ home in the middle of June was hot, dusty and cramped. Tattered bed sheets tried to block the blazing South Texas sun coming through the small square windows. As a single parent with four children, it’s hard to find time to keep up with the housework.

Flores has been a single dad of four – Hector Jr., 14, Rene, 11, Sandy, 7, and Tania, 6 – for the past five years, officially. He used to live in a tiny, trailer-like home that he slowly assembled by himself in an attempt to give his children a safe place to live.

Unofficially, he’s been a single dad for eight years since his ex-wife left for Mexico without telling...

Before they turned on the office computers or answered a phone that first day of work at the Hendrick Breast Institute in Abilene, the staff lined a hallway and prayed with Hospital Chaplain Bruce Lampert.

Breast Institute Registry Coordinator Melissa Boyd and her staff listened as Lampert spoke to them of the gentle power within the scarred hands of Jesus Christ.

“That same power exists in your hands,” Lampert told them. “And, just as the aroma permeates the air around us, the work you do here will be far-reaching.”

Boyd sees that morning as the beginning of a powerful ministry that would save the lives of countless women and...

It does not take much searching to find alarming statistics about the financial health of the typical American household. USA Today recently reported that 69% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.1 Perhaps even more alarming is a study quoted by CNN Money, which reveals that up to 35% of US households are in debt collection.2 Add in the fact that the average credit card debt is over $16,000 for households that carry a balance,3 and it becomes clear that an overwhelming number of Americans live in a precarious financial state.

Jimmy Rodriguez has seen the toll taken on families by financial strain and uncertainty first...

When it came to asking God why things happen the way they do, Lulee was all too familiar with that inquisition. Having never met her biological father, Lulee was raised by her aunt and her mother, who battled a serious illness.

For years, Lulee prayed to God and asked Him to heal her mom. But, with no tangible improvement, Lulee quickly gave up on praying and believing that God was in control. Her young life began to spiral out of control.

In high school, Lulee sought love and approval in relationships and tried to escape her pain with drugs and alcohol. Though she had the support of her aunt and ailing mom, Lulee still rebelled...

Children’s Emergency Relief International (CERI) is the overseas branch of BCFS, formerly Baptist Child & Family Services, a global system of non-profit organizations. As a Christian health and human services organization, CERI brings hope to children living in extreme poverty around the globe, including some of the poorest regions in Eastern Europe.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova struggled to transition to a market economy. As a result of political instability and economic decline, Moldova became the poorest country in Europe. Living conditions deteriorated rapidly, especially in rural areas, and poverty was...

Both rewarding and challenging, the path that God has appointed for Kimberly and Doug Uyechi is one they have been quick to acknowledge as “a family mission.”

The Uyechis have three adopted children and, for the past seven years, they have been opening their hearts to foster children by providing a safe, loving home where their individual needs are met. Over 50 children from hard places have been comforted by Kimberly and Doug’s loving embrace, the majority of those within the last year. Twelve months ago, the Uyechis began serving STARRY as foster parents who were willing to take children in emergency settings so that children...

When I received the email that I would be serving in Louisiana, the excitement was overwhelming. It was my very first Go Now mission. The nerves and excitement slowly became more and more.

Louisiana was a place I had never been before, but had heard of many stories. Baton Rouge was the area where we would be working. This area was the most affected by the flood in August. Words can not describe the damage that was done. As we arrived to Baton Rouge, we slowly discovered how bad the people of Louisiana were affected.

I loved working with the team I was placed with. At first, I was very scared to get to know them, to share with...

South Asia is an interesting place to visit, especially for an introvert. When I applied for a mission trip, I thought about construction work. God had a different plan in mind.

God sent me to a South Asia.

I was sent here for a reason – to share Jesus Christ with others. Who would have thought a shy college student would be going around looking for people of peace?

Before the trip, I had a fear of sharing the hope of Jesus with others. As I ended the trip, God opened my heart. Now, I want to share this news with everyone. I learned many ways to spark a conversation, turn the subject and share the Gospel.

As a softball player at The University of Texas at Austin, Stephanie Ceo spent a lot of time with her teammates on and off the field. One teammate, Rachel, was always kind and encouraging and also professed to be a Christian. Stephanie had been to church before and knew about God, but did not believe He existed. She had great difficulty understanding how God could allow bad things to happen.

In their conversations over four years as teammates, Stephanie noticed differences in the way Rachel treated her and was more open to having conversations about faith. One day in their senior year, Rachel invited Stephanie to Free Lunch on...

Vaughn, Sunshine, Jax, Lily and Milo Managan took up residence in the small town of Deweyville, Texas, this summer serving as volunteer coordinators for Texas Baptist Men Disaster Recovery. Each member of the family played a valuable part in the work of helping families rebuild their homes following a devastating flood which damaged more than 700 homes.

Throughout the summer, Vaughn and Sunshine coordinated nine different church and association groups, mobilizing over 200 volunteers from 16 different churches or associations, working on nine homes. The Managan’s children, ages 7, 11 and 13, went along with them each day...

Morgan Little shares about a partnership Tarleton State University BSM has created with Northwest Collegiate Ministries to reach the lost in the Northwest region of the United States. To read more on this partnership, click here.

Tarleton has begun a 2025 vision. Their prayer is that over the next ten years 20 Tarleton graduates will move to the northwest after graduation to work among college students. Their prayer is that in 10 years they will be able to mark 20 northwest campuses from the unengaged campus list because of Tarleton BSM graduates. There are currently three Tarleton students preparing to move to the northwest after...

In June of 2015, Clayton Bullion, the BSM Director at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, and his wife Bethany ventured to Portland, Oregon to visit five of their Go Now Missionaries who were serving with the Northwest Collegiate Ministries (NCM) for the summer.

“Our hope was to encourage our team, visit as many campuses as we could, and get a ‘feel’ for college ministry there and see if there was anything we could do to help,” Clayton said. “We were not prepared for what we encountered.”

From Seattle, Washington, down to Eugene, Oregon, they visited 12 campuses and realized that hundreds of thousands of university...

Over Labor Day weekend, we took six students from Rice University to Baton Rouge to help Southern Baptist Disaster Relief work to begin rebuilding homes from the recent flooding. The team was mostly compiled of students that had never really hung out together, and some I barely knew.

When we started talking we all learned that none of us had ever been involved in a mission trip like this or ever worked with disaster relief. Personally, I had never done anything like this and had no idea what to expect. We were told that we would be mudding out houses, but I assumed it wouldn’t be too hard.

Editor’s note: To learn more about how Texas Baptists are partnering to help Louisiana flood victims through long-term Disaster Recovery efforts, click here.

“The devastation in Livingston Parish is overwhelming.” Bob Page reflected on the destruction as he stood in the middle of a neighborhood in Denham Springs, Louisiana. The city and surrounding areas were all but destroyed in the wake of historic flooding of the Amite River.

A 42-year Air Force veteran and retired Texas Baptist Chaplain, Brigadier General Page said he had never seen anything like this. “It’s deeply disturbing and breaks my heart.” Thirteen people are known...

As Oretta stirred the huge pot of soup, almost as big as she was, she shared with us about her childhood in Italy where she learned to cook for large groups of people. She has lived in Denia, Spain, for many years and finds great joy in making meals at the daily feeding ministry...

I was gone for two months as a missionary. There were times I was hungry, times I was cold and times I missed my family. Oh man, I was ready to return to my homeland. I was ready to tie a flag around my neck and run around like all those stereotypical, Fourth-of-July celebrators. Y’all, I even sang “God Bless America” as I landed on the airstrip at the DFW Airport. I cried in the embrace of my family because the sense of relief overtook me. I had set foot on American soil, I felt safe and I was able to breathe. I was ready to step off that plane, or so I thought.

Throughout our daily plans and schedules, God is present, anointing conversations and authoring divine appointments with perfect precision. It's easy to become distracted from God's presence by our own thoughts and to-do lists; however, when we ask God to provide opportunities to trust Him, He does. And He did for me.

The day after our ministry in Orlando was over, a few team members and I decided to go out to eat for dinner. Our original plan was Steak 'N Shake, but after seeing how crowded it was, we decided on Wendy's.

While enjoying our fast food, a man approached our table, looking like he had seen better days. The man...

The next day, we went to a mall with the hope of finding some women shopping. It was about lunch time and we met a girl in the restroom. One of my teammates asked her where would be a good place to have lunch. This girl seemed extremely friendly, so we started talking about the places we’ve visited and asked her where else would be good to go. Suddenly, she invited us to her house on Friday to have a meal with her family. For Muslims, Friday is an important day, like our Sunday. So we felt very honored to be invited and also very excited to visit a local family.

This country is definitely blessed and incredibly beautiful. By embracing all the extremes of nature - from sea to desert and the mountains to cliffs - it composes the most breathtaking symphony. I am totally in awe of God’s amazing creation and masterpiece here. His love and grace can be found everywhere.

On one side is the immense ocean - a nurturing, magnificent abundance of life, full of grace. On the other side is the boundless dry land, yellow sands, brown stones and rocks - where God’s grace is even more demonstrated on the traces of life through the yellowish grass and bushes, goats, camels, etc.

For those of us from a church context, the woman at the well is a familiar story. I encourage all of you to talk a minute to read John 4:7-42.

This passage tells a story of a woman, who after encountering Jesus, immediately goes and tells everyone she knows about him. This is the account of what she did:

“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ’ They went out of the town and were coming to him ... The people of that town came to Jesus, and they encountered him too. What happened after that? And many more believed

I wanted to share a neat story about something that happened on our beach last Sunday. After setting up our equipment early Sunday morning, we served hot dogs for a few hours before shutting down for an informal church service in front our our tent. We put up a cross and gathered in front of it.

Throughout the weekend, we had been inviting people to come and a fair number of people showed up. Up until this point, fishing had not been good for the whole beach. Standing out with their huge dip-nets in the close to freezing water and bone chilling wind, most people did not have a whole lot to show for all their time and...

Priscille Murphy and Naraim Enriquez are serving as Go Now missionaries at Alfa & Omega camp in Denia this summer, watching the Lord at work in mighty ways in a region where Christianity is scarce.

Almost 60 years ago, American missionaries established Alfa & Omega camp on the southern coast of Spain, in the town of Denia. At the time of its establishment, Christians in the region were under persecution for their faith and the Iglesia Evangelica Bautista La Trinidad connected with the camp only had a handful of members.

Pastor Jorge Pastor of Iglesia Evangelica Bautista recalls the day the land was purchased as a small child and...

Outside the city of Brownwood, lies a small Baptist encampment where I was spending a week as camp pastor of an RA/GA camp when the reports out of Louisiana and Minnesota came in. These were quite disturbing to me. I attempted, even from a distance, to minister in the midst of these reports by calling African American pastor friends who I knew were having to work through this in their churches and communities.

Then, Thursday night, the world I knew fell apart. Coming back from worship I began to hear the reports, out of my home city of Dallas, about the shootings and terror on the streets of downtown.

Susie* is a recent believer from a closed country who came to faith through the BSM on her campus. She was commissioned as a Go Now missionary this summer and below shares about her excitement over obtaining her visa to be able to go on her assignment.

I have been waiting for my visa to go to my mission field for a long time and there are so many people praying for it. Finally, I got it today! My teammates have been there already there for a few days, but I will still be able to catch up with them and will not miss a lot. Our God is definitely a miracle working God. Not only that, His timing is always perfect and His plan is...

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying “’I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” – John 8:12

Alaska–The Final Frontier. Those of you who have seen this gorgeous state know that God’s presence sings off the mountains and pours down from the waterfalls. There is so much raw beauty surrounding each side of you at all times in Alaska, especially by the Kenai River.

One of the most special things about this interesting land is that it only gets dark for about an hour during the summer. For an example, it’s 10:49 p.m. right now while I’m writing this and the sun is...

BOUNCE Mission Waco is drawing to a close. Our twelve teams have worked hard on ten different houses and accomplished a lot this week. From painting, to siding, to construction, to lots of roofing, our students have learned many new skills and served Christ in a tangible way. Some students have even talked about being baptized when they go back home! Overall, it’s been a great week. Despite some challenges, our BOUNCERS have persevered and had fun as well. We have heard stories of mission teams that have worked really well together, finishing tasks while building relationships. Students have also been able to have conversations...

All twelve of our BOUNCE Teams are still hard at work. With the understanding that they will be finished with their houses tomorrow, they have continued finishing their roofs and painting their houses. Some of our staff members had the opportunity to work alongside the students and get to know them better. Some teams have even finished their smaller houses and are continuing work at another site.

Worship services have consisted of singing praises, hearing about resources, and listening to the word of God taught by Aaron. The Beatitudes come from Jesus’ most well-known sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. Tonight he spoke about those...

BOUNCERS’ work continued today on their sites. The students were hard at work despite the intense heat, which was up to 97 degrees today. We continued encouraging everyone to use sunscreen and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. The work accomplished so far includes scraping old paint, applying new paint, and repairing roofs.

One homeowner has lived in the same house for 61 years. She said she has been praying for years for help repairing this home. She and her family were physically and financially unable to do the work themselves and are so grateful for the BOUNCERS who have come to serve her. The students have told stories...

The people of Spain are “really tired of hearing about Christ. ... They need to see real love, real love through real people,” Pastor Antonio Calero Cerrado boldly proclaimed.

Pastor Cerrado heads an outreach ministry of Iglesia Evangelica Bautista La Trinidad in Denia, Spain. He and Pastor Jorge Pastor have co-led the thriving church, averaging 400 in attendance in week, at a Baptist campground for the past 40 years.

Both pastors highlighted the difficulty of evangelism in Spain. The church history is wrought with persecution, dwindling numbers, and community disdain. Despite the barriers, the Lord has answered their prayers...

Today was the first day of work for our BOUNCERS. The day began bright and early for breakfast at 6AM, then continued with GO TIME: a time of prayer and commissioning. Aaron Austin, our mission coordinator in Waco this week, encouraged the students and prayed before sending them out to their sites for the first time.

We have a total of twelve teams working on houses this week. The work they will be doing consists of scraping, painting, roofing, siding, and small construction work. The teams are churches from different cities and the students will get to know each other well over the course of the week. One of the things students...

BOUNCE Mission Waco is officially underway! Our churches have arrived safe and sound from various cities. The staff was glad to meet them and begin the week. We are excited to welcome and serve the 150 participants and leaders.

The week always kicks off with BOUNCE Bash: a fun, high-energy time of playing Giant Jenga, getting to know the staff, and learning about the rules of BOUNCE in an entertaining way. This is facilitated by our Worship Leader, Haley, who engages the students and gets them excited about BOUNCE. These participants are ready to help members of the Waco community.

It's easy to view the recent tragedies occurring in our world and respond with "God is in control," a few prayers and dismiss it completely. It has become normal for our culture, especially Christians, to react this way, because unfortunately, we have become desensitized to the reality of death and hatred. I found myself in the similar numb trap; a lack of feeling. Until today.

This morning, after spending two hours ministering to children from Scotland at a hotel kids club, I received a call from my mother. A wake up call to reality.

Through her sobs, I was informed that a freak accident while swimming in a lake resulted in...

It is hard to believe that this is the last week of BOUNCE for the summer! We are getting ready to welcome all of the churches arriving in Waco tomorrow. 150 students and leaders will be gathering to serve the Waco community from all over. Participating churches will be Central Baptist Church in Marshall, Crosspoint Church, Eastern Hills Baptist Church, FBC Lufkin, FBC Plainview, Paramount Baptist Church, and South Main Baptist.

Mission teams comprised of these churches will be rehabilitating homes in the Waco Community. This week, we will be partnering with local organizations such as Waco Community Development, Waco Regional...

The BOUNCERS have done a lot of great work in Mineral Wells this week! Some houses have had siding installed, received new coats of paint, and even had porches rebuilt. Students have been working hard this week and we are proud of them for all that they have accomplished. They have come together, gotten to know each other, and learned how to work as a team. These 70 students and leaders did a lot of work for the Lord’s glory, by meeting physical needs and paying attention to spiritual needs as well. We are thankful for the relationships built with the homeowners.

Students had another day of hard work today. A few teams have even been able to finish the work on their houses and contribute to another house’s progress; six teams are working on seven work sites in Mineral Wells. Each night, we are thankful for a time of worship to praise God and hear from His Word.

Worship all week has been about the Beatitudes. Our worship speaker, Dwayne, continued unpacking this part of the Sermon on the Mount this evening. We have learned thus far that true satisfaction is found in Christ and is characterized by humility, righteousness, and Christ-like actions. When a person follows Christ, there comes...

Progress continued at our participants’ ministry sites today. Many of our teams have already finished scraping and priming, and painting has begun on multiple houses. Each homeowner has a different situation, and may have endured hardship after hardship. Some houses are in desperate need of siding installation or painting, and the BOUNCERS are hard at work.

One homeowner named Linda said that these students’ work was an answer to prayer. She had prayed for six years and knew that her house needed repairs soon. She was glad to have a BOUNCE team there. Linda was seen at her table with more than one Bible open, thanking God for...

This morning, we started off the week with GO TIME: an opportunity to commission the BOUNCERS with prayer. We asked the Lord to move this week as students are actively serving Him and reflecting His love to the community around them. All the BOUNCERS met in the parking lot and were prayed over, then the six teams headed out to begin their day. Each morning, as the teams arrive on their worksites, a student selected as Team Chaplain will lead a devotional that allows students to be in God’s Word first thing. This helps the participants remember why they are here and learn from scripture before they begin their work.

As I stand in the entryway of the chapel, a man explains to me that his wife was due to have a baby last week, but he has not heard from her in awhile. The last report he had was not good.

With a broken heart I think to myself, “What a great opportunity to begin showing this man how to have hope and begin mending a relationship.”

But there's just one problem. He's one of 180 inmates streaming into the prison chapel at Century Correctional Institute. I am the only chaplain on the compound today and I have volunteers waiting to begin the service. A Church of Christ volunteer is here to conduct a separate service and I need to...

Mission Mineral Wells is officially underway. Our churches have arrived from all around Texas and even New Mexico! It is great to see churches of different denominations come together to serve and worship the Lord. We have a total of six churches in Mineral Wells this week ready to engage this town for the gospel. Our participants are eager to help the community by doing porch repairs, trim, siding, painting, and roofing. These skills are valuable for the students to learn, but more importantly we are praying for hearts to be changed as God moves this week.

The BOUNCE Team is looking forward to another great week! The Bartlesville mission wrapped up nicely a few weeks ago, and we are ready to jump back in, this time serving the Mineral Wells Community. We will have churches from First UMC Farmington, Cowboy Fellowship, Christoval BC, Brazos Meadows BC, Bethel Chinese BC, and locals from Mineral Wells arriving tomorrow.

The BOUNCE Staff is excited to meet the students who will be serving this week. There will be around 70 students and leaders lodging at Mineral Wells Jr. High School, and we are thankful for a place to eat, sleep, and shower. Immanuel Baptist Church will be hosting us...

On Friday morning, after performing a set of singing and puppetry at McDonald’s, I felt convicted to speak to an 8-year-old little girl who was sitting alone in the audience named Veronica.

After making brief small talk, I asked her if she went to church, to which she replied “no.”

I, then, asked her if she knew who Jesus was, to which she replied “no.”

Little Veronica had no clue what the Bible was, nor of what sin is, nor of what prayer is. This caught me by complete surprise. I had the opportunity to tell her about Jesus and what He did for her on the cross 2,000 years ago to save her from her sins, and her eyes sparkled in...

This past week I have been writing some curriculum for a D-Now that our team will be running next weekend. We’ve been going through the life of Joseph and seeing how what Jesus did on the cross has finished every trial and struggle that Joseph faces. We pointed out four main things that are finished in his life, his self-worth, self-identity, fear and his independence.

Identity means so much here in Portland. How you express yourself, your interests, your feelings and your sexuality define who you are. Coming from South Texas, I really struggled to understand where people were coming from and why they expressed themselves the way...

I have been a follower of Jesus Christ for over 15 years. I have learned a lot about following Him throughout this time and honestly, I have a lot more to learn about following Him. In no way do I claim to have all of the answers, wisdom, understanding or experience. But, I do have what He has been teaching me lately and that is what I am writing about today.

I have read Luke 10 multiple times, and I have taken notes throughout my share of Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, retreats, conferences and planning meetings. However, the Father has really deepened my understanding of this passage and how I can apply it to my life...

In Haiti, I met a “crazy” man – one for whom I had prayed to encounter.

We had been in clinic for two days, yet I had not had a single opportunity to share the Gospel with a person who did not know Christ. It bothered me so much that I asked my supervisor to explain the clinic tickets were allocated among the community. Why were we reaching only the believers in our efforts?

For the most part, the decision was left to the pastors of the local churches; nonetheless, I found myself searching the word of God and praying earnestly for an opportunity to reach the lost. Never had my heart so yearned to share His light.

Sunday nights in Taichung are my favorite. Along with my team and a full-time missionary, I get to walk through Bible stories that I've known since Sunday school with people across the Christian spectrum, from mature Christians to those who have never heard about Jesus.

Tonight, I was blessed to interact with one of the latter. Jason is an exchange student from mainland China and tonight was his first time to come to our meeting. One of his friends (also from China) has been coming for a few weeks and has been really curious about Jesus and decided to invite him.

I'm working with my team at Epic Life Church here in North Seattle. This week is our biggest week of the summer concerning the church because we're working an event called Celebrate North Seattle. This event has grown to over 2,500 attendees in past few years and it celebrates the achievements and businesses around the community. This is our major outreach event of the year. There have been countless hours worked over the last six months by the staff at Epic Life and we've been able to join in the process. Because this event is happening this Sunday, we're doing any and all last minute preparation in order to be ready.

Walking down the city streets, I saw handicapped individuals selling lottery tickets and knock-off sunglasses to pay for their next meal. I saw a beggar crouched in the corner of a stairwell, his hands clasping a paper cup. I saw bald, orange-clad monks asking for food offerings for their monastery. I saw an old woman presenting drinks before a spirit house. I saw the most intricate and magnificent architecture constructed to honor an idol made by human hands. I saw graffiti on an overpass that read “Where is the hope?”

The people of this country are 97% Buddhist. They believe that all life is suffering, and the only way to escape...

BOUNCE Bartlesville is a wrap! We are so proud of the work our BOUNCERS have done this week. They have build wheelchair ramps, constructed decks, repaired roofs, installed siding, painted houses, and more. In just one short week, they have served Christ and been featured in a couple local media sources proclaiming His name.

It has been a great week here in Oklahoma. Thanks so much to everyone who was involved, adults and students alike. This would not be possible without the generosity of all the leadership who was devoted to serving the community and pouring into students. Our mission coordinator, construction/logistics...

Coming from the South, New York City was a huge culture shock. New York City has a population of 8 million +, when my hometown doesn't even reach close to 1 million. At first, I told myself there's no way I could live here. You don't even feel the freedom to breathe. But then it grew on me.

I am living in Manhattan and commute to Brooklyn where I have begun to work with Pastor Danny at Swerve Church. Bushwick is a neighborhood two square miles wide and home to 140,000 people. It is filled with art, culture and a great need for God. You learn very quickly that you are in their territory, which makes ministry here very relational...

The week is going by quickly and everyone has been hard at work. Several of our groups stayed late at their worksites yesterday in an effort to get more accomplished. Each night, we are glad for a time of worship to praise God for who He is and to hear from His Word.

David, our worship speaker, continued unpacking the Beatitudes. Throughout the week, he has been talking with students about what Jesus teaches in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. We have learned thus far that true satisfaction is found in Christ and is characterized by humility, righteousness, and Christ-like actions. When a person follows Christ, there comes...

I have found the word “work” to be one of the hardest words to define when speaking about ministry here in the Northwest. In the American context, most define work as space to complete a task or an hourly fulfilment. However, these examples are constructed with a beginning and an ending. Work is merely the time in between.

The work I’m a part of here redefines and challenges the concept because I am always on the clock with my students. I travel, eat, I feel pain and live life with them every day.

The international students who I minister to are in need of a friend who can answer the awkward cultural questions, give advice...

BOUNCE students are doing great things in the Bartlesville community. Greg Graham, of FBC Bartlesville, had the opportunity to visit several of the houses where BOUNCERS were hard at work. He told a story about one homeowner who was a member of a local congregation. Her own children had been on numerous community service mission trips. “She had been giving all her life, and now through BOUNCE the Lord was blessing her,” said Greg. “Three out of four sites that I visited had homeowners nearly in tears out of gratefulness.” It is awesome to hear stories of how students can make a difference for the Lord’s glory.

I came to California not knowing what to expect, but knowing that I need to be obedient to the call of making disciples among all the nations. My trip includes serving the Afghan community in Fremont, California. When we got here, Ramadan - a time when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset - had just begun.

For me it was hard to come and not have a set schedule of what to do, but the Lord showed me Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”

Jesus has been teaching me to be still in his presence since February, but he has been reminding me, “Ana...

Today kicked off our BOUNCERS’ first day of working! After their arrival yesterday, the groups became acquainted with the facility that First Baptist Church of Bartlesville is allowing us to use to eat, sleep, shower, and worship.

Early this morning, we had a time of prayer over our participants. Go Time allowed us to commission the students to head out into the Bartlesville area to begin working. It was a good reminder that it is not merely about accomplishing tasks, but also about serving people and reflecting Christ.

Each evening, our students engage in a worship service. David Scott, director of BOUNCE and of Texas Baptists...

The following day, our team of 11 split up and four of us volunteered to do a 24-hour shift at Skala, which is a stage two refugee camp. Typically, no one willingly volunteers to be at Skala, since there have not been many refugees since the EU-Turkey Accord in March; however; Eurorelief requires that a team be there just in case a few boats happen to get past the Turkish Navy.

I really did not want to go, but when my leader asked for volunteers, I felt the Lord nudging me to go. After a few moments of awkward silence, I listened to the Holy Spirit and volunteered...

Our six churches have arrived safely today. Most of the groups stayed the night in Oklahoma last night and drove to Bartlesville this afternoon. From Crosswinds Community Church, FBC Nacogdoches, New Harmony Baptist Church, Eastern Heights Baptist Church, Frio Baptist Church, and Baptist Temple Church, the BOUNCE team is glad to have the participants here.

The BOUNCE staff and students are ready to serve the community of Bartlesville. Each group will have a unique project that will impact homeowners for the gospel. Some of the projects include laying tile, installing vinyl siding, roofing, painting, building wheelchair ramps, and...

Home to over 116,000 students, the University of Guadalajara lies in Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco, Mexico, which has a mere 1% Christian population.

For over 15 years, the university was without a Baptist ministry presence. In recent years, Texas Baptists, in partnership with the Baptist Convention in Guadalajara has helped develop a Baptist Student Ministry on the campus, in hopes of engaging college students with the Gospel.

College students are open to question and wonder, said Director of Texas Baptists River Ministry Daniel Rangel, making it a prime location for ministry.

We had a great time in Duncanville last week conducting the Dallas mission for the first week of BOUNCE this summer. The BOUNCE staff has now transitioned to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and is looking forward to meeting our participants arriving tomorrow! We will have students from Baptist Temple Church, Crosswinds Community Church, FBC Nacogdoches, Frio Baptist Church, New Harmony Baptist Church, and Eastern Heights Baptist Church.

Team BOUNCE is excited to meet all the students who will be serving this week. The team this week consists of Michelle Merriott (Mission Coordinator) and Lonnie Hoelscher (Local Logistics Coordinator and...

We are so proud of our BOUNCERS for finishing the week strong! It has been tiring, but the students have accomplished a lot in the Dallas community. From priming and painting, to siding, to roofing, to constructing porches and decks, youth groups came together to serve the community in the name of Jesus. The Lord did some great things with the physical tasks, as they were projects that made a difference in the city of Dallas. He also worked in the hearts of students, to help them understand the reason for serving. We work to serve people as a small expression of the way that God loves them. Devotionals in the morning and worship...

It is difficult to believe that it is nearing the end of the week already! The staff is proud of the BOUNCERS who have been working hard consistently to serve as an expression of their love for Christ. Not only have they been able to accomplish tasks to help meet physical needs in the community, but they have also had the chance to encounter God in worship sessions each night.

Our worship speaker, Randy, has been diligent in his presentation of Matthew 5. Presenting the word in a way that captures the students’ attention, he uses relevant illustrations and is passionate about students connecting with scripture. He spoke this...

Jennifer has served as a semester missionary in East Asia for the past few months. Here are her thoughts as she contemplates leaving those she has befriended and have yet to receive salvation.

How often do we pause to think about God's love for us? The depth of God's love that caused Him to take our debt so that we may live with Him forever. It is a love that we cannot fully understand until we begin to grasp the debt we owe.

Then, let the weight of such a gift give a desire for friends to accept His love also. With this love, it is nearly unbearable to watch friends hesitate to make a choice and watch them consider whether or...

Today is day two of the BOUNCERS engaging the community on their work sites. We’ve heard several updates from groups who have accomplished a lot already! Many have been tasked with painting, roofing, siding, or even constructing wheelchair ramps. Our coordinators have been hard at work planning and organizing the various projects, and the students have spent a lot of time bearing the heat and humidity to serve others.

BOUNCE has been fortunate to be featured in a few different media outlets in the Dallas area this week. We are glad to get the word out about what God is doing. It is unusual for youth to spend any of their summer...

Participants awoke bright and early this morning to eat breakfast and head out to their worksites. 7am was Go Time, when we commissioned our students and sent them out to serve Christ in the Dallas community. Brian Pearce, Mission Coordinator, encouraged them by reminding them of the gospel and the motivation that comes from being loved by God and desiring make him known.

BOUNCERS dove into work for their first day at seven different worksites around Duncanville. We are thankful for the local Baptist churches that provided lunches to these hardworking students! The students will be at their individual sites until Friday of this...

The Lord is always good, but the Lord has been especially good these passed few days here on the island of Lesvos, Greece. The beauty here is unimaginable. The rolling hills, the glistening Aegean Sea, the Greeks whose smiles and warm nature always make your day. At times you might forget that just a couple miles away lies a refugee camp. While the tension and the hurt is palpable and real, I cannot deny that the very essence of God flows through every inch of that camp and the entire island.

As the days have passed in the camp, there have been families I've come to know and love, children who I could see playing on my street back...

Despite traffic and weather conditions, all of the Mission teams arrived to Duncanville’s First Baptist Church today! We are so excited to get to know people from these churches all over Texas. There are about 175 students and leaders who made it here safely from Plano, Wylie, Dimmit, Crockett, Southwest Park, Stoneburg, and Kingwood.

When they arrived, our students were able to get situated in the rooms graciously offered by Duncanville’s FBC this afternoon. We are thankful for them this week! BOUNCERS were also able to participate in the BOUNCE BASH, in which they were introduced to our BOUNCE staff, played games, and had fun...

The BOUNCE staff is excited to welcome this summer’s students! We are eager to meet the churches serving in Dallas this week: FBC Dimmit, FBC Crockett, FBC Plano, Kingwood FBC, Southwest Park Baptist Church, Stoneburg Baptist Church, and Wylie Baptist Church. There will be approximately 175 students and student leaders lodging at Duncanville’s First Baptist Church.

Donations were given through the Texas Baptists’ Refugee Relief Project, which originated in October 2014 through a partnership between Texas Baptists and the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD).

The funds raised this winter and spring through the project will help support local Lebanese churches in their mission to be the hands and feet of Christ to the millions of Syrians who have been fleeing to Lebanon since...

I have been in South Asia for 10 full days and I can honestly say that everything is completely different from anything I've known before. The language, food, architecture, culture, people, dress and transportation are all very different than life in the States.

Today, I'm going to focus on the transportation difference though. In the United States, we have a lot of traffic laws and regulations that are in place to promote order, safety and peace of mind amongst its citizens. In South Asia, there are some traffic laws, but most of them aren't followed because there are millions of people trying to get where they need to. There...

One of my favorite quotes is from Jim Elliot, “So many missionaries, intent on something forget that His main work is to make something of them.”

Missions can be more than a “trip” for your mission team if you seize the opportunity for discipleship. Training that takes place before the mission trip is an investment in members long after they come home from the “trip.” Through Go Now Missions, our ultimate goal is to grow up a generation of mission minded disciples of Christ. Our training consists of eight weeks of studies and scripture memory in an accountability group before they go.

Living on mission, according to Josue Valerio, director of the Missions Team, is being present with the people around you and pointing them to a deeper relationship with Christ. As Jesus sent out 72 disciples in Luke 10, He gave them instructions to pray, travel light, seek a person of peace, practice receiving hospitality and to proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand. Following His directive, the disciples were to remain in a home and be present with those living there - to experience life with them and share Christ’s love.

Whether we are practicing these principles in our neighborhoods or in a community halfway around the...

Recently, I posted about prayer on a social media account, because I was writing up course lessons for urban pastors. A wise friend commented and asked me the question, “How do you define praying strategically?”

I wanted to briefly answer that question in a blog post. (Be on the lookout in September for a more extended course on how a church can pray strategically for its community and world.)

Praying strategically begins with looking at the model prayer Jesus gave us in Matthew 6. In this passage, the disciples came to Jesus and wanted to know how
they were supposed to pray. After seeing all of the miracles, it was obvious...

In villages across Sri Lanka, many mothers struggle with the harsh reality that they are unable to provide healthy food for their children to eat. Many are either too poor to put food on the table consistently, or they don’t know what healthy food is
and how nutrition impacts the bodies and minds of their growing children. Children who grow up malnourished are more likely to struggle with illnesses and developmental delays, leading to more medical issues as they get older.

According to UNICEF, nearly one of every five children in Sri Lanka is born with low birth weight and approximately 29 percent of children under five years...

The first day a mom and her children set foot at Exodus Ministries, they are welcomed into a beautiful, fully-furnished apartment. Each apartment is uniquely decorated by thoughtful volunteers. Each kitchen comes completely stocked with groceries, through
support of the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. Each detail is covered in prayer and the family has everything they need to begin a new life.

Having just been released from incarceration or a residential rehabilitation facility, these mothers often come to the complex with only the clothes on their back. The look of wonder and awe as they take in their new surrounding is Case...

On a beautiful clear Saturday morning, I had the opportunity to join Josue Valerio, director of the Missions Team, and my daughter Kalie Lowrie, publications manager for Texas Baptists, on an outing to help train a handful of pastors in the Juarez Valley.
Our day began with a short walk over an International Bridge from El Paso into Juarez. In less than 30 minutes, God transported us by foot into another world—a world of opportunity.

A local pastor named Jose Angel Hernandez, also a Texas Baptists River Ministry coordinator, greeted us in his older model Suburban and transported us along streets and byways much more like a third...

WIMBERLEY, TX--When Bobby Catt, minister of students at First Baptist Church in San Angelo, discovered a student mission trip opportunity in Wimberley, he knew he had to sign up his youth group right away.

Catt called the small town, with a population just over 2,500, home for many formative years. Last Memorial Day weekend, numerous Wimberley residencies sustained severe damage after record amounts of rainfall caused flooding across Central Texas.

Nine days after the flood, Catt and three members from his church traveled to Wimberley to begin relief work.

It was around 12:30 a.m., Wednesday morning of the third week of Beach Reach. Students were assembled in their assigned roles around the island. For some it was directing traffic in the busy Looie’s parking lot, others struck up conversations with spring breakers over pancakes. Some spent hours in the sanctuary of Island...

College students around the country know that South Padre Island is the place to go for a good time during spring break. Between the sand, sun and fun that is had by thousands, it is a one of the busiest weeks of the year. One night, 1,500 new guest checked into a local hotel, which is about half of the population of the entire island.

As college students, with a sprinkling of families and a few “winter Texans,” provide a substantial boost to the economy, the influx also requires a substantial increase in police officers and city workers to help maintain safety in the community.

HOUSTON--Home to nearly 2.2 million people, Houston is labeled the fourth most populous city in the nation and has over 145 languages spoken. Along with its large population and immense diversity comes more startling statistics:

Houston has more victims of human trafficking than any other U.S. city.

"'For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me'...And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:35-36,40

How does God work to save a man from taking his own life? How can a clinic team and two pastors reach a man in his darkest hour? God alone can be the explanation.

This week, I traveled with a group of pre-med and medical students to El Paso...

I have often thought back to a meeting one afternoon with the "consultant" in regard to attendance. The church was at its lowest point in my tenure. I was desperately trying to figure out what our church could do in the midst of decline, and a neighborhood we seemed not to match up with. The "consultant" told me to build a church with the affluent and let the affluent minister to the non-affluent. The key in all of it, though, was that our main worship service was going to primarily only serve the affluent. Part of me still cringes a little bit inside, not because of what he said, for perhaps I misunderstood, but because there was...

Ruth sat at a table in the two-room shack where she lived with her abusive husband and four hungry children in the Dominican Republic. She stared at a cup of tea in her hand that would cause her to abort a fifth child she was now carrying.

"Ruth! Ruth!" She heard Rosa Elena calling her name from across the street. It became a God-moment, and the calling of Ruth's name saved the precious life of Ruth's unborn child.

Rosa Elena did not just cry out to Ruth; Rosa Elena fed Ruth and her children, and shared God's love for her and spoke of the gift of life Ruth carried within her.

This past month, Radio Rio de Dios had an incredible time of ministry. During the last week of January, during our monthly marathon, special guest Pedro Paz came to the radio station to pray, share the Gospel and minister to the listening audience.

Over a period of six days, more than 500 people came to the radio station seeking help, prayer, and to bring offerings for the radio ministry. People waited for hours outside in the hot sun to receive prayer and in some cases healing from various illnesses.

During the week over 175 decisions were made, many accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior for the first time, while others renewed...

I remember his faithfulness in leading out in the ministry of the church. I remember he was one of the most familiar faces from my childhood. What I will never forget about him is the Sunday evening he stood in a business meeting at our church to discuss some changes and he proclaimed "the church is gone."

He was actually quoting from a business meeting in that same church that had happened 12 years earlier when the church had split. For me, it was the first time I had ever imagined that a church could or would die. It shook me because this was the church I had grown up in, and the thought of it being gone really got to me.

Christmas seems to come sooner and sooner each year. Most retailers are displaying and selling Christmas merchandise in the middle of October, some before the end of September. Radio stations begin playing Christmas music in the middle of November. My daughters begin talking about Christmas in March. Facebook memes will typically come out on December 26 touting 364 days until Christmas. While some people get quite annoyed at the early nature of Christmas, others welcome it. Regardless of how you feel about it, as church leaders we can embrace the Christmas season as a time when our church outreach efforts can bear much fruit...

The season of gratitude and giving is just around the corner, and the stressful question is likely beginning to linger, "What do I give my friends who family who have everything they need?"

This holiday season, Texas Baptists is offering 34 opportunities in its first-ever Missions Gift Catalog to give unique gifts to people in Texas and around the world who do not have everything they need, especially the one thing they need most—hope of eternal life.

"Why would you want to give to someone that already has a lot when you could give to someone who has so little?" said Josue Valerio, Director of Missions for Texas Baptists.

When teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus declared to the Father, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). His prayer was an invitation for redemption – but it was also a bit of a cliffhanger.

How does a community go from brokenness to redeemed as it is in heaven? What does it look like for those words to become flesh? While I do not have a complete answer, I do believe the Lord has charged churches with a divine call to act as catalysts for this transformational process.

The following prayer guide is a monthly outline of ways to pray for Texas Cities. It is specifically for churches and church leaders in these cities. Our prayer is that the Kingdom of God will be advanced and these churches will be encouraged. Also that they will be healthy as the work to be the church in our urban areas.

Please use the following prayer as guides, though they can be prayed verbatim it is better for you to put these prayers in your own words.

Father you are the ruler of the universe (Psalm 115:3). Thus you are the ruler and the God of the cities of Texas. Father because you own all things, you are the one who has the

MCKINNEY, TX – Prisoners have souls in desperate need of God's grace, just like the rest of us. One former missionary's observation of this truth led him to begin a simple Bible study in an East Texas detention center, which has now grown to a ministry across more than 20 prisons in the state.

Ted Lindwall served in Guatemala as a missionary for 45 years, but in 2005, he moved to Texas and began teaching a class on Christianity in the Collin County Detention Center.

"[The students] took the same [Bible] studies we used in our class and took them all over the jail and shared them with fellow prisoners," Lindwall said. The...

Texas Baptists River Ministry connects and assigns churches to specific projects along the Texas/Mexico border as well as in the top 10 most populated cities of Mexico. The ministry is made possible by funds given through the Mary Hill Davis Offering. The Week of Prayer for Texas Missions and the Mary Hill Davis Offering is September 13-20, 2015. Click here for resources for your church to help promote this special offering in your church.

In some parts of Mexico, families often choose to live with physical discomforts in order to avoid pricey medical care. Medical equipment such as examination machinery, wheelchairs and...

One thing social media has done is portray others' lives to be better than they really are. In some cases, people blatantly lie about their lives, but in most cases, people put all the positive things about their lives on social media. They choose to leave out the negative stuff, the real life complaints. This has happened amongst pastors, too, in some ways. When is the last time you saw a pastor post on Facebook, "Attendance was way down yesterday, seems to have been a trend lately?" For many reasons, pastors will probably not post a statement like this. They are only going to post when they had a "great day," or when the "Spirit...

If we are to be honest, we have to admit one of the key concerns for us as church leaders is how many people participate in the "main" worship service on Sunday morning. It is a challenge to work hard and not always the see the results of our efforts. The key to understanding this, however, is to realize that the results are for the Kingdom. The men and women who find Christ in one of our church ministries are those we will see in heaven, which is our ultimate goal as ministers of the Gospel.

Many churches have ministries for children and youth on Wednesday nights, and some of those participants do not come on Sunday mornings. Maybe...

GALVESTON–Last week, volunteers teamed up with Texas Baptists Disaster Recovery (TBDR) to take part in a unique missions experience—one that allowed opportunities for mornings of servant-hearted labor and afternoons of summer entertainment.

Forty volunteers from five Texas Baptists churches spent the weekday mornings painting homes, building fences, cleaning yards and making repairs for homeowners who are still reaping the effects of Hurricane Ike, which devastated much of the Island in 2008.

In the afternoons, the volunteers spent their free time playing miniature golf, going to the beach, visiting Pleasure Pier,...

The BOUNCE staff is very pleased with the results of the week of ministry in San Marcos and WImberley! We've seen the restoration of homes and hope brought through the service of students. Christ has been reflected well this week in San Marcos. A total of six worksites were completed. Houses got new roofs, walls, insulation, and other improvements. Before BOUNCERS left, they presented their homeowner with a picture of their team as a gift.

Ms. Joyce Adams, an 82 year-old deaf homeowner, was greatly impacted by the flood on May 24 of this year. Through sign language, she explained that the manager of her trailer park tried to knock...

BOUNCERS woke up early this morning to eat breakfast and kick off their day with GO TIME! Go Time is a brief meeting where BOUNCERS all meet together in the parking lot at the lodging facility, are prayed for and sent off to begin work. A total of six ministry teams consisting of over 70 students and leaders went out into San Marcos and Wimberley to reflect the love of Christ through their service.

Anna Alvarado, a 14 year-old from Cowboy Fellowship, said she has learned that Missions shouldn't just be here. She lives pretty close to San Marcos, and it could have been them. She stated "Mission work should be a lifestyle, not a task...

BOUNCE staff is happy to announce that all of our BOUNCERS have arrived safely in San Marcos. Students and leaders are excited for what lies ahead. We welcomed about 75 BOUNCERS through the doors of First Baptist Church of San Marcos today. A total of six churches brought student missionaries this week. Churches participating are Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, First Baptist Church Canyon Lake, Life Church of San Antonio, Cowboy Fellowship of Jourdanton, First Baptist Church Lampasas, and San Isidro Baptist Church.

Groups had long drives this morning and are excited to finally arrive in San Marcos. They're excited to see how...

We had a great time in Mineral Wells, Texas last week! Now, BOUNCE staff has arrived in San Marcos, Texas for another week of serving the community. About 65 BOUNCERS will be arriving tomorrow afternoon to kick off our last BOUNCE of summer 2015 in San Marcos. Our participating Churches this week are Cowboy Fellowship of Jourdanton, Texas, FBC Lampasas, FBC San Isidro, Lakeside Baptist Church of Granbury, FBC Canyon Lake, and Life Church of San Antonio. BOUNCERS will be lodged and fed at First Baptist Church San Marcos and worship will also be held each night at First Baptist Church San Marcos.

The BOUNCE staff is very pleased with the results of the week of ministry in Mineral Wells! All worksites have been completed thanks to the hard work of all the BOUNCERS this week. We've seen the restoration of homes and hope. Christ has been reflected well this week in Mineral Wells. A total of six worksites were completed. Houses got new roofs, paint jobs and other improvements. Before BOUNCERS left, they presented their homeowner with a Bible as a gift.

Peter Simpson, Youth Pastor at FBC Copperas Cove said that the kids on his worksite made friends with each other quickly. They fought through the heat and other barriers to...

It's the third day of work here and Mineral Wells and BOUNCERS are moving along on their projects very well. They are learning new skills that they may have never thought they would be able to learn. Besides the work, one of the BOUNCERS' favorite things about the week is the nightly worship. During this time, students have had the opportunity to look back and see what God's been doing in their lives and what he may want to do in their lives in the future.

Each night, students hear from Worship Speaker, Randy Beggs about the life of Peter and his failures which were followed by triumphs. He's been emphasizing takings steps of faith...

BOUNCERS had a great night of rest and were up early this morning to continue on their worksites in Mineral Wells. They were looking forward to going out and seeing more progress made on the houses they were working on. Many BOUNCERS have found it surprising that they've been having fun on their worksites despite the physical demands that the work entails. They are also enjoying meeting and working alongside students from other youth groups.

Students have already learned a lot about service this week. There are several students who are feeling God work in their lives this week. Many are feeling affirmed in calling to missions and...

BOUNCERS woke up early this morning to eat breakfast and kick off their day with GO TIME! Go Time is a brief meeting where BOUNCERS all meet together in the parking lot at the lodging facility, are prayed for and sent off to begin work. A total of six ministry teams consisting of over 70 students and leaders went out into Mineral Wells to reflect the love of Christ through their service.

Kayla Kemp, a 17 year-old from FBC Copperas Cove said that she hopes that this week strengthens her relationship with God. She also hopes to strengthen her friendships with her Christian Friends. There are young children at the house next door to...

BOUNCE staff is happy to announce that all of our BOUNCERS have arrived safely in Mineral Wells. Students and leaders are excited for what lies ahead. We welcomed over 70 BOUNCERS through the doors of Mineral Wells Jr. High today. A total of four churches brought student missionaries this week. Churches participating are Brazos Meadows Baptist Church of Waco, First Baptist Church Copperas Cove, First United Methodist Church of Farmington, NM and Sharpstown Baptist Church.

Groups had long drives this morning and are excited to finally arrive in Mineral Wells. They're excited to see how God will work in them and through them this week...

We had a great time in Moore, Oklahoma last week, and now, BOUNCE staff has arrived in Mineral Wells, Texas for another week of serving the community. About 70 BOUNCERS will be arriving tomorrow afternoon to kick off BOUNCE in Mineral Wells. Our participating Churches this week are Brazos Meadows Baptist Church of Waco, First Baptist Church Copperas Cove, First United Methodist Church of Farmington, NM and Sharpstown Baptist Church. BOUNCERS will be lodged and fed at Mineral Wells Jr. High and worship will be held each night at Immanuel Baptist Church.

This week, a total of six teams will be headed out into the city of Mineral Wells...

The BOUNCE staff is thrilled with the results of the week in Moore! All the work on the sites has been completed and we could not be any more proud of the hard work put in by BOUNCERS this week and the way they reflected Christ's love in Moore. A total of 15 worksites were completed. Houses got new roofs and paint jobs and some BOUNCERS cleared brush and built and painted fences. Since today was the last workday, homeowners were presented with a bible as a gift from the BOUNCERS who worked on their home.

Tonight concluded with the WRAP PARTY, which covered some of the highlights of the mission, including the BOUNCE Mission Offering...

On the third day of disaster recovery work here in Moore, BOUNCERS are working very efficiently. It will not be a problem finishing all of the sites by tomorrow afternoon. After working hard each day, one of the things the students have to look forward to is the time of worship that is conducted each night. This has been a time for students to reflect on what God's been doing in their lives this week.

Students hear from Worship Speaker, David Scott about the life of Peter and his failures, which were eventually turned into triumphs. He has been emphasizing that it will be hard to become who God calls us to be, but it's better to be...

After a good night of rest, BOUNCERS were up and working early this morning in the Oklahoma City and Moore area. They were eager to go back out into the community and continue showing the love of Christ to their homeowners. The BOUNCERS are having fun at the worksites as they are able to meet and form friendships with students from all across the state of Texas.

Many media outlets have been covering BOUNCE so far this week. Two television stations, a newspaper and a radio station have all come to worksites to interview students and feature BOUNCE! They've been able to communicate the heart of service that BOUNCERS have to the...

BOUNCERS were out and about at the crack of dawn to kick off their week with GO TIME! Go Time is a time where all BOUNCERS meet together in the morning, pray and are sent off the begin work. A total of fifteen ministry teams and over 150 students and leaders were sent out into the Oklahoma City and Moore area to spread the love of Jesus to the community.

Topanga Fagan, a 15 year-old from FBC Cisco, says she wants to be a missionary when she grows up. This week, she hopes to hear from God and that she can narrow her choices as far as what, exactly, God will call her to do.

All of our participants have arrived safely in Moore! All of them appear to be excited to spend the week aiding Moore residents in long-term disaster recovery. We welcomed 150 students through the doors of Emmaus Baptist Church. We have a total of six churches that brought BOUNCERS this week. The churches participating are Baptist Temple of San Antonio, First Baptist Church Cisco, First Baptist Church El Paso, First Baptist Church Ponder, McQueeny Baptist Church and South Main Baptist Church of Pasadena.

Groups drove for hours to get here and were excited to finally arrive in Moore. They are eager to encounter God this week and to...

We had a great week in Waco last week and the BOUNCE staff is excited to welcome our BOUNCERS who will be serving in Moore, Oklahoma! BOUNCERS will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. We are expecting about 150 students and leaders for our Moore mission. Churches participating in this week of BOUNCE are Baptist Temple of San Antonio, First Baptist Church Cisco, First Baptist Church El Paso, First Baptist Church Ponder, McQueeny Baptist Church and South Main Baptist Church of Pasadena. Students and staff will be lodged and fed at Emmaus Baptist Church in Moore

This week, teams will be working in long-term disaster recovery efforts as...

The BOUNCE staff is very pleased with the week in Waco! We are proud of all the BOUNCERS who came this week to reflect Christ's love here in the city. We are very excited to say that all of the houses were completed today! A total of ten homes got either a new roof, a new paint job and even new steps and a new ramp. Most importantly, however, the homeowners were presented with the gospel through the words and service of many students and leaders this week. Homeowners were also given a bible by BOUNCERS.

Kolten Porterfield, a 15 year-old from Kingwood's First Baptist Church said that coming into this week, he didn't know the impact...

On the third day of work here in Waco, some teams have finished the house on their worksite and the end is in sight for all the other groups. Even though students have been spending most of their days working, some highlights from the week have occurred away from the worksites. Every evening, BOUNCERS are able to worship together. In this time, students are able to hear from this week's worship speaker, Brian Pearce, as he encourages them with a message each night.

Brian has been talking about the life of Peter, which includes the failures and the triumphs. He has been encouraging the students to "step out of the boat (Matthew...

BOUNCERS headed out to their worksites early this morning to continue ministering to the city of Waco. Students are learning how to do their tasks and are doing a great job on their sites. BOUNCERS from different churches are getting along well with one another. The common purpose of rehabilitating homes has really united the students to keep pressing on to continue the work at their sites.

Several media outlets have already covered BOUNCE. A television station, a newspaper, The Waco Regional Baptist Association, The City Council and Waco Community Development have all come out to sites to feature BOUNCE over just two days. They've...

BOUNCERS kicked off their first day of work this morning with GO TIME! GO TIME is a rally where students participated in warm-up activities to prepare for the day ahead. Following this, BOUNCERS were prayed for and commissioned by Worship Speaker Brian Pearce to head into Dallas to begin rehabilitating homes! A total of ten ministry teams were sent out to work on various homes in the City of Waco.

The weather was surprisingly mild, which made for a great day on the ministry worksites, BOUNCERS worked hard on various activities such as scraping paint, applying paint, roofing, and building steps and ramps. Lunch this week for the...

We are excited to announce that all of our students arrived safely in Waco, ready for an action-packed week of BOUNCE! We welcomed 138 Students and leaders from 4 different churches. BOUNCERS this week are from Christoval Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Kingwood, Southwest Park Baptist Church of Abilene and Woodridge Baptist Church of Kingwood.

Students were excited to arrive at Columbus Avenue. They are ready to serve God and see what He has in store for them this week.

Alex Penn, a 17-year-old from FBC Kingwood said that this week she hopes to make an impact on someone's life. She said that she is most looking forward to...

The BOUNCE staff is busy preparing to welcome all of our churches serving in Waco this week! We are expecting about 145 students and leaders to be coming in for our Waco mission. Churches participating are Christoval Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Kingwood, Southwest Park Baptist Church of Abilene and Woodridge Baptist Church of Kingwood. Students and staff will be lodged and fed at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.

This week, teams will be rehabilitating homes all over the city of Waco. In order to make this happen, BOUNCE has teamed up with Waco Community Development and Waco Regional Baptist Association Churches. We...

In June of 2013, a flooding disaster left residents of Eagle Pass in great need of reconstruction and attention to damage due to rising water levels. Two years after the natural disaster, Texas Baptists Disaster Recovery is continuing to send groups of volunteers to help the community repair damages, provide service to those in need and share the love of Christ.

Eagle Pass, a town on the border of Texas and Mexico, is located in Maverick County, which is the ninth poorest county in the United States. Due to the flooding from 2013, the community's poverty levels only increased as many people lacked the resources to properly fix...

Armed with hammers, power tools, paint and enthusiasm, 100 junior high and high school students flooded into South Dallas June 8-13 to help repair homes through Urban BOUNCE. The Texas Baptists Student Disaster Recovery program, which began in 2014, started a new track this year with an emphasis on urban areas in need of rehabilitation.

The students formed nine teams and worked on seven homes, identified and secured through a partnership with by People Helping People through the City of Dallas.

"Our partnership with People Helping People is a great asset," said David Scott, director of BOUNCE. "They help identify qualified...

The entire BOUNCE staff is proud of the work done by BOUNCERS and their investment this week in Dallas! New roofs were put on houses and houses got new paint jobs. More importantly, the homeowners that students served were presented with the gospel through words and actions. At the end of the week, BOUNCERS presented their homeowners with a bible, a signed BOUNCE poster and a picture of the ministry team who served them. Teams also invited their homeowners to come to worship on Friday night. Two homeowners came and expressed their appreciation to BOUNCERS.

Kaitlynne Hicks, a 16 year-old BOUNCER from Crosswinds Community Church said...

Some of the highlights of this week of BOUNCE have been what happens off of the worksite. Every evening, BOUNCERS join together in worship. It has been a refreshing time of reflection for many of the students. It is a time when students can sing praises to God and learn about His Word.

Worship speaker, Ryan Jespersen, has been speaking about the life of the Apostle Peter. He has been highlighting the times that Peter failed, but, ultimately, experienced triumph through grace. He has encouraged students to "step out of the boat (Matthew 14:29)" and put their trust Jesus, whether it be for salvation or being missional and bold in...

Today was the second day that BOUNCERS rehabilitated homes on their ministry worksites. Students are getting the hang of their various tasks and are genuinely excited and eager to continue working on their projects. Groups from all different churches are getting along well as they work together to share hope with the families they serve.

BOUNCE has been already covered by several media outlets this week, appearing on radio and in newspapers. Several students and leaders were willing to share some of their experiences so far from the week. Sutton Lowe, a second-time BOUNCER from First Baptist Church Lufkin, said that he enjoys BOUNCE...

It may come in a meeting, time alone in your office, casual conversation … it's the thought that if you, as a pastor or church staffer, help lead your church down the road to truly reaching your community you may no longer be the right person to lead, due to demographics, age or some other factor. The church called you because you reflected the church, but now that the church is changing will you need to bow out? What will this mean to your family, your career and the rest of your ministry?

I pastored a church in an area of over 75 percent Hispanic of which 62 percent spoke Spanish at home. I had a wife and 2 small children to...

BOUNCERS kicked off their first day of work this morning with GO TIME! GO TIME is a rally where students participated in warm-up activities and relay races to prepare for the day ahead. Following this, BOUNCERS were prayed for and commissioned by Mission Coordinator Shawn Edwards to head into Dallas to begin rehabilitating homes! A total of nine ministry teams were sent out to work on various homes in South Dallas.

It was a hot day on the ministry worksites, but that didn't stop BOUNCERS from working hard. BOUNCERS scraped paint, worked on roofs and painted houses. Lunch this week for the ministry worksites is being provided by...

We are excited to say that all of our students arrived safely in Dallas! We welcomed 82 students and leaders from 5 different churches. FBC Rockwall, Spring Creek Fellowship of Big Spring, FBC Chilton, Crosswinds Community Church of Hobbs, NM and FBC Lufkin were the churches that brought BOUNCERS to serve with us this week.

There is a general sense of excitement and energy around our lodging facility. Students are eager to serve the community here, as they have been preparing spiritually for this week for quite some time. They are ready to witness to their homeowners through their construction projects.

The BOUNCE staff is very excited to welcome all of our teams coming to serve with us in Dallas tomorrow! We're expecting around 85 students and leaders from FBC Rockwall, Spring Creek Fellowship of Big Spring, FBC Chilton, Crosswinds Community Church of Hobbs, NM and FBC Lufkin to serve with us this week. Students and staff will be lodged at Duncanville's First Baptist Church and will be rehabilitating homes in Dallas.

BOUNCE has also partnered with The City of Dallas' People Helping People and Dallas Baptist Association Churches to help make this week possible. We cannot express enough gratitude to our partners.

WIMBERLEY - As Bobby Catt and his family were on vacation in his hometown of Wimberley over Memorial Day weekend, the flood waters rose and the small stream of the Blanco River swept homes off foundations and left many stranded.

Catt, who serves as a youth minister at First Baptist Church of San Angelo, knew as he assessed the damage on Monday morning he wanted to return as soon as possible to help his friends and former neighbors recover.

Nine days later, Catt and three members from his home church traveled to Wimberley to begin work. Their project was helping mud out the home of Catt's longtime friends and recover belongings that...

After an F4 tornado struck Acuna, Mexico on Monday, May 25, First Baptist Church Del Rio responded by becoming a collection point for any churches willing to donate volunteers and resources for disaster recovery.

By partnering with a neighbor church, Templo Bautista Bethel, FBC Del Rio is sending long-term help and ministering to those affected by the tornado that killed 13 and injured over 200 residents of Acuna. Teams of volunteers from FBC Del Rio were sent to feed both the disaster recovery workers and the affected families.

Following the crucial support given by the volunteers of FBC Del Rio, Pastor Larry Floyd and...

As needs are arising in Texas following flooding, tornadoes and other severe storms, many in Mexico are also experiencing great difficulties from weather damage. Larry Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church Del Rio, led a group from their church to minister across the border in Acuna, Mexico, following an F4 tornado. Read his report below:

Day 5 in Mexico was one of importance. We sent a group of seven to continue our presence for those that have been displaced by the F4 tornado on Monday. As we went in Jesus' name, we made an initial stop by our partner church Templo Bautista Bethel. There we stumbled upon a pastor's gathering in...

Recently, the Texas Baptists' Missions team went through some missional coach training, which we are ready to do with mission leaders and pastors in Texas. One thing I learned through this training (something I knew as a pastor, but was never able to put words to), our trainer Dr. Bob Logan said if pastors will engage in a missional evangelistic lifestyle, church members will then follow in the kind of lifestyle.

What he said next is what really got me: The level of effectiveness of a pastor, doing this kind of work, really does not matter. What matters is that they are doing it. Even if you believe you are "bad" at...

We received the following letter from Olu Menjay, president of Liberia Baptist Missionary & Educational Convention, Inc, vice president of the Baptist World Alliance and principal/chief administrative officer of the Ricks Institute. He gives his thanks with a grateful heart, and thanks you for your prayers and tangible support during the raging storm of Ebola in Liberia.

"I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in everyone of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5

Loaves & Fishes is a ministry actively seeking to alleviate hunger amongst refugee children in Houston. They receive funds from Texas Baptists Hunger Offering via the Union Baptist Association, which help the ministry in a variety of ways:

Providing a hot meal for children on Saturday nights, when they do not receive a meal from school

Keeping a stock of food items such as rice and lentils for families to take when food stamps run low

Packing children's backpacks in the summertime with food

Margie Randall, retired IMB missionary, has a special place in her heart for children. Ever since God called her to help refugee...

God continues His mission of redeeming, restoring and reconciling the world unto Himself. His ultimate goal is to transform the world to what He originally intended. Can you imagine a community, a place where nothing is missing, nothing is broken and everything is as it should be? God is in the process of bringing His Shalom (His wholeness) to broken communities and into individual lives. God is very aware that His creation is in a fallen and broken state, and He is at work to heal and restore His creation.

God is an unchanging God, although his creation continues to evolve and change. A changing world should then cause God's...

Open House Ministries is a ministry actively seeking to alleviate hunger and poverty in Homestead, Florida. They receive funds from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, which help OHM in a variety of ways:

Providing healthy snacks for 70 students after school daily

Teaching elementary-aged students about nutrition and healthy eating habits as they help grow vegetables in six community garden beds

Interacting with youth and children through homework assistance, Bible stories, music, art, sports and computer training

Open House Ministries is a community ministry, which rose up out of needs following Hurricane Andrew...

In the 1950s, both pastors and churches had a sort of automatic "voice" in the community. People listened to pastors simply because of who they were. Being a church and a minister gave one a certain level of "prominence" in whatever community they were in. More and more we live in a culture where this is no longer the case.

In many ways, we live in a "post-Christian" culture; gone are the days when one can assume everyone was either a Christian or had a respect for Christians. In Jeremiah 29, the children of Israel find themselves in a similar situation. While in the Promised Land, they settled into a life of comfort; they were...

AUSTIN—Chris Rubs was cleaning his garage on the night of October 31, 2013, unaware that outside his door, torrential rains had caused the neighborhood creek to overflow.

He suddenly heard screams coming from outside and opened the door to find an unnerving sight: floodwaters were engulfing his neighborhood and neighbors were chasing after a little girl who had been swept off her feet by the rapids. Together, with other men and the help of a chain-link fence that snagged the girl's clothing, Rubs helped bring her home to safe arms.

Once he waded through water back to his own home, Rubs crawled through a window to get inside, where...

I remember sitting in the pastor's study at Grace Temple. A former member left the church a very large sum of money and I was looking over the documents when the bell rang. Sitting across from me, was a man who claimed to need $20 for a prescription.

I remember thinking, "How in the world could this church, who had just been given money, turn away this man who has this need?"

We gave him the funds he requested for the prescription. Sometime later, he came back to my office, and openly admitted to me that he had not used the funds appropriately, but at that moment he needed something to eat.

Two years ago Principal Marta Plata of Manuel Jara Elementary School realized her staff of excellent teachers and leaders could work tirelessly every year to seek to educate their students and empower them to be the best they could be. However, without positive reinforcement at home, many of the lessons taught in the classroom would not change the behaviors of their students.

Through collaboration with Primera Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Plata was able to begin a program called Parent University, which is a 13-week curriculum educating parents on the 40 developmental assets that will help their children succeed.

This past Thursday evening, I received word that my thesis project was given final approval and I will be receiving a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary on May 9th, 2015. I started thinking about the reasons I decided to move forward with a doctorate degree. I would like to share some of those here in an attempt to give pastors and other ministry leaders some insight into what the Doctor of Ministry is and the reasons I chose to pursue it.

Further learning: "Leaders are readers." I am not sure who first said this, but it is a truism, which I have seen many times. A leader must continue to pursue

I had been on African soil for three days. To conclude a week of training in Botswana, my teammate and I were dropped off at a traditional village home for the weekend.

We learned to adapt to what I would consider a slow, laborious lifestyle. The nationals we resided with laughed at our efforts to pluck a chicken, take a bath in a bucket and speak the native language.

On Sunday morning, we put on our long skirts and began the trek toward the village church. We followed the lead of our hostess, who faithfully walked half a mile on the dirt road to church every week in her well-worn, red high heels.

BIG SPRING—Community evangelism comes in all shapes and forms, but oftentimes begins with a simple conversation. For First Baptist Church in Big Spring, one small seed planted in a local Chinese restaurant has grown to form a much-needed ministry in the community.

When Sherry Lindsey moved to Big Spring six years ago, she felt compelled to visit the local Chinese restaurant and meet the waiters. After that initial conversation, the restaurant quickly became a hub for church members to connect with local Chinese and show Christ's love to them on a regular basis.

When Leroy and Willie Gendke signed up to deliver containers of humanitarian aid to Ukraine with Texas Baptist Men, they did not realize God would have a child with a cleft palate waiting for them. Willie shares the remarkable journey that has taken place over the last 18 years as she has learned to care for her daughter, Yana, and watched her defy odds and become a victor at the 2014 National Speakers' Tournament.

Yana was born in Latugeno, Ukraine and abandoned in the hospital. She had a severe cleft palate and lip. When I found her, she was 6-weeks-old and had lost more than half her birth weight.

Now that is a big word for some of us. When you and I think of the word
endowment we think of people who are long gone, who left at least a million dollars and now that money is being used and is growing. But you think there would be absolutely no way you or I could do something like that.

But, think again….

You have the ability to start an
endowment with virtually any amount. Let's take an amount you and I might imagine we would have some day to give away. While $10,000 sounds like a lot, with the right savings plan all of us could save this much. What can $10,000 do to bring people to Jesus over the course of 20...

"We must learn to not regard people in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer."- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

His name was Richard. Just being released from the hospital, he retreated home – a familiar place of peace and solitude, but that night he woke to his house under water. Richard, a victim of the October 31, 2013, Austin floods continued to live in his home sans electricity and water with a growing pain and wound to his psyche. That is until one of the first BOUNCE: Student Disaster Recovery teams came to help rebuild his home and his hope last July.

I want to tell you a story about my friend Larry Venable. Larry has been pastor of Freeman Heights Baptist Church for 31 years. 31 years in the same church, coming to same office, ministering in the same community. This community, Central and West Garland has changed significantly through the years; it has become much more ethnically and socially diverse.

In fact, when Larry first arrived in 1983 this was already beginning to happen. Most guys in situations like his might just bide their time until they are able to find a new place of ministry – an easier spot to do the work, but not Larry. Larry has stuck it out through the...

It's Monday morning. Yesterday was a long hard day. In some ways it was a good day, a little boy from the neighborhood came to church for the first time and gave his life to Christ. However, a teenager spent the entire service talking behind Mrs. Smith and of course this bothered and she let you know about it.

In the last few years, your church has made the commitment to get on mission in your community, yet it seems some days this decision is one you would like to reconsider because well, it just gets tough sometimes. You are reaching new people, but the work is hard and sometimes you cannot see the results. Take a minute and...

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO: Eight Texas Baptist organic church leaders journeyed to Mexico City, Mexico the first week of October to train local church leaders on how to share the Gospel in their communities using personal evangelism and the 4byfour method. Throughout the week, they experienced God's provision and power. Forty individuals on the streets accepted Christ as Lord, and 19 young people surrendered to the call to ministry. Read these personal testimonies from a few of the missionaries:

Sharing Christ in the community

As we went out to the streets of Mexico City to share about God, it surprised me to see that the...

In Lebanon, millions of refugees are trying to figure out how to survive brutal temperatures as the winter months approach. Through the development of a winterization project, Texas Baptists are sending necessities like blankets and heaters to help refugee families prepare for the winter.

Since early 2011, when the Syrian conflict began, more than 1.5 million refugees have fled to Lebanon seeking safety. At least 10,000 Iraqis have also sought security in the country. Most of them have little money and no place to live.

Lebanese churches from various denominational backgrounds have embraced many of the refugees, displaying the love...

Cities are known for their cultures and for their role of influence in societies. Also, there are other forces, which are constantly shaping the city and its cultures. But today, it is crucial for us to understand the city, the communities within the city and their cultures in order to collaborate in ministry and serve the different groups who live, work and visit the city.

I believe the basic elements of culture are languages, artifacts, practices, values, institutions and stories.

We all contribute towards the creation of culture, and culture re-creates the city and its inhabitants. This is why it is important to understand how the...

DALLAS - Through funding from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, Texas Baptists Disaster Recovery (TBDR) and Restore Hope are sending food and supplies to areas that are experiencing starvation due to the Ebola crisis.

In Liberia and Sierra Leone, many farmers have contracted the Ebola virus and died causing farm workers to lose their jobs. In-country prices have escalated since less food is being produced.

CNN reported in a recent article that the number of Ebola cases could rise to between 550,000 and 1.4 million by January if there are no additional interventions or changes in community behavior, an estimate derived from the...

Pet training, or "obedience school for dogs," is held in a very distracting place for your dog to walk. I am referring to the dog training class at PetSmart. In our class, the trainer is a young man who handled bomb dogs in the military. He attempts to help us train our new dog Marley. While, this is an excellent endeavor and he does a good job in teaching us to train Marley, every 7 minutes he also attempts to sell me a new PetSmart product. I guess we should have probably expected this. The problem is when the trainer tells us to walk Marley dog around the store, we are obviously walking around a pet store, which has two things...

ADAMSVILLE - Betty Rials was looking for a way to remind her church members at Adamsville Baptist Church to pray for state missions during the WMU of Texas Mary Hill Davis emphasis week. She looked out in her front yard and found the answer - bricks! Betty became a brick collector about 25 years ago, and knew the value of the bricks made in Ferris, Texas, between 1902 and 1903.

She gathered together 12 bricks and began painting the names of River Ministry Coordinators Mario Garcia, Dr. Gloria de la Pena, and Vanessa Quintanilla on them. After an especially difficult summer along the border, Betty knew the River Ministry Coordinators...

The Japan Mission Trip for August 2014 was a richly rewarding experience for the seven Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery volunteers who participated, led by retired IMB Missionary to Japan, Sherwood Moffett. Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami of northern Japan, teams of Christian volunteers have expended time, money and energy to be the face of hope and the arms of grace to the survivors.

The team spent the first few days in the city of Sendai, the largest city in the disaster area, worshipping with Taitomi Baptist church and participating in ongoing youth fellowships and adult Bible studies. The aim of these activities was to show...

Clap, Clap, Clap, "This will make the dog leave us alone." This was trick the pastor of a church meeting in our building was telling me would help keep a very large, very scary, very loud dog from jumping all over us the minute we walked through the gate. At the moment we pensively walked through the gate I certainly hoped this trick, which he learned on the mission field would actually work. We lived through this one without a scratch, and a couple of thousands other doors as a major attempt to reachour neighbors with the gospel of Christ.

Some have said that knocking on doors is not the way you reach people for Christ anymore....

On August 9, Linda Freeman (a member of First Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth) and Bertha Vaughn (a member of Bethany Baptist Church in Houston) joined seven other Texas Baptist church leaders through the African American Ministry. Each followed the call to serve eight days in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. Here the team did door-to-door evangelism and held Bible studies for Quilombola villagers under a shade tree. Read Freeman's and Vaughn's testimony as they recall unforgettable experiences from the village visits.

Linda Freeman

BRAZIL - It was a fascinating day. We visited two of the Quilombola villages. In the last village we...

"No they're not here. No they're not here. No they're not here." This is the response that the folks at Grace Temple Baptist Church of Dallas received as they walked down 10th St. on a hot summer day. They were looking for the apartment managers of the many apartment buildings located on their street. Finally, when they arrived at the very last building, someone was willing to talk with them.

Grace Temple has a dynamic AWANA Program, which reaches dozens of children each week. They desired to expand this program into the apartments on the same street as their church. They begin to pray and ask God to allow that to happen. The...

A new neighborhood, a new school, and a new place without the foundation of family and a familiar community—all of us know how hard that would be for a young person. Yet one little girl's mother, Tasha, was praying and asking God to bring a church into her daughter's life, a church where she could find Christ and be a disciple in that faith.

Enter the Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Garland, a Texas Baptist church whose youth group and church body had recently been renewed in its commitment to reach the surrounding neighborhood for Christ. The youth group at Eastern Hills decided that one way they could reach their community...

Johnnie Musquiz serves as Pastor of Iglesia Bautista Houston. Below is a first-hand account of his experience taking a volunteer group from his church to serve Central American family units in McAllen.

Three weeks ago I toured the Catholic Charities in McAllen. I came back and showed pictures to my church about the need and also the opportunity. My son (Timothy) came and shared with me that he wanted to organize a group and go help with the effort at the Catholic Charities. The dates (Aug 15-16) were scheduled and a group of nine volunteers were enlisted. We took brand new clothes that were donated, 200 plastic water bottles, and...

Allison Dufour, a student at Stephen F. Austin State University, served in Alaska with Go Now Missions.

It has been just over a week since my return home from Alaska back. This last week has been a whirlwind emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.

I have slowly begun to process the changes in my life since spending a summer in Alaska. I have often thought about how I could impact the people of Anchorage, but what I did not expect is how much of an impact they would make on me.

Since leaving Alaska, I have noticed how much the Lord changed me as a person. One of the biggest ways this happened was God improved my work ethic....

VICTORIA - Through discovering a community need and a partnership with the local food bank, Greater Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Victoria has begun a feeding program that is making an impact in both the city and the church.

"We believe that the church is not supposed to be an institution that caters to itself," said Montari Morrison, pastor of Greater Mount Calvary. "The church is always supposed to be a resource to the community. Our message is supposed to go outside of the walls and not only be a spiritual help but also a physical help."

Since April 2014, volunteers from Greater Mount Calvary, as well as neighboring churches...

B.B., a student from Texas A&M University, served with Go Now Missions in South Asia this summer.

Well jet lag is a beast. It's currently 5 a.m. and I can't sleep because I've crossed about 11 time zones to get home, but in this quiet darkness when I find myself alone in my living room, what better thing is there to do than think about the wonderful things that my God has done this summer. So this update will be sort of different than my others, for instance it's probably going to be a lot longer because I need to tell you about the events of the past three weeks and then sum up what the Lord has been teaching me this summer. So...

Lana Fashi Zayed is a missionary in Israel with the Arabic Church of Dallas as her sending church. She asks for prayer as she and her husband search for a vehicle and give birth to their firstborn this month. They will be visiting Texas next summer to share about living and ministering in Israel.

The church-based mission sending fund provided by gifts to the worldwide offering of BGCT provides matching funding to the Arabic Baptist Church to support Zayed's ministry. For information on how tosupport the fund please contact Ryan Jespersen at ryan.jespersen@texasbaptists.org or (214) 828-5278.

Sadly, our summer interns are leaving New York City. It was such a privilege to serve with these 15 young adults for two months. I learned so much from them. Helping coordinate this summer internship was a privilege and a blessing. It feels different now that our Metropolitan New York Baptist Association mission house is empty.

The past two months, our associational mission house was full - not only with our summer interns, but also with mission teams from all over the United States. They were here to serve at the different churches in New York City.

Diana Mao, cofounder and president of Nomi Network, spoke to our interns about her...

Trying to communicate camp rules and activities to the French campers was challenging enough. Keeping the campers focused and interested during devotional time is a whole different ball game - especially when I'm trying to discuss a chapel message that was given in a language that I don't understand.

After starting the week off with uninterested campers begging to go play instead of talk about God, I couldn't help but be frustrated and growing impatient at my inability to reach my group of girls. I couldn't understand why my girls were so cold to Christ and why they didn't seem moved at all by the stories of his love and sacrifice...

Central Florida is fortunate to be blessed with more than 50 million souls to minister to throughout the year.

Orlando has broken its record of people passing through the city with 59 million people, representing different cultures, ethnicities, languages and races. It is beautiful to imagine the hearts that could be touched, seeds that could be planted and souls that could be saved.

What is even better is the thought that one changed soul can change a nation or area. As we spread the gospel to one person, that one person can spread it in their home, and then “Bam!" From right here in America, we have reached China, North Korea or...

Here in Vancouver, we've been hanging out with some university students every Thursday this summer to play Ultimate Frisbee. They've let us join in supporting their team, even though not all of us play. They've let us come along to dinner with them after games. And now I can finally say that they let us share the gospel.

On a recent Thursday, I talked with three of the girls over dinner about what I believe and how Christianity differs from other religions. I shared with them the gospel and planted seeds of news they hadn't heard before. We're making the most of these relationships in our final days here by spending time with them...

I was super-sad to leave Manchester. I had grown to love the missionaries, my teammate, the church I attended and the non-Christians I had befriended. I was flying back to Texas alone.

I was tired from staying up late saying goodbyes to everyone, and I had an early-morning flight. By the time I got on my flight from London to Texas, I was ready to sleep, watch movies and just shut out the rest of the world for the next 10 hours. That was not God's plan for my flight.

Even before the plane took off, I was comfy in my seat with my neck pillow. Then the cutest 2-year-old sat right next to me. I thought, “Well, there goes my sleep...

It should come as no surprise to me that God is continuing to teach me through the tiny tots I so enjoy being with. But one lesson was far more subtle than usual, and it has taken me a few days reflection on an adorable moment to recognize how childlike we should be when approaching God's throne.

It was a Thursday. The church was having a party in the park. As usual, I was running around with a few of the kids. One in particular had attached himself to me for the evening. I was carrying him on my hip, running around, doing all kinds of ridiculous things you do when playing with toddlers.

It is hard to really describe what we do here at The Living Vine Christian Maternity Home. It is one of those things that you can't really understand it until you are actually doing it, living it. But I think this story really sums up exactly what is going on here.

Saturday, July 19th, was visitation day. The girls spent the morning doing their chores and then later in the afternoon, they were allowed to go out on visitation with family, if that was at all possible. We had one girl going on visitation, one girl who spent each day at the hospital with her baby in NICU, leaving three girls that we were going to get to take to the...

GUADALAJARA -- As the little boys gathered around preparing for the final game in their soccer tournament, River Ministry coordinator Pedro Munoz reminded them that this was the moment they had been preparing for over the past month.

"Some of you will be winners today, as your team wins the tournament, but all of you can be winners if you give your life to Jesus Christ," he said.

Arenas, the area where these boys were playing, can be very dangerous at times. When Pedro was on the street the day before, he encountered teenagers with cocaine and marijuana in hand, not fazed by the public visibility. Located on the outskirts of...

Kemp, high school senior from First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove, was one of nearly 200 volunteers who joined Bounce, a student-focused disaster recovery mission experience, which launched in West, Texas mid-June where the community is recovering from the April 2013 fertilizer plant explosion. Churches from...

GUADALAJARA -- People are gathering across the globe in masses to cheer on their favorite team in the World Cup. Watch parties have emerged in several areas in Guadalajara as nationals cheer on the Mexican team, or enjoy watching games like Greece vs. Japan. This week, amongst soccer jerseys and team paraphernalia, individuals wearing black shirts with the simple message "No Mas Violencia" can be found around the city. Churches in the Emmanuel Baptist Regional Association in Guadalajara have handed out 35,000 flyers around the city, promoting the message of peace and many have been very receptive and interested in learning more.

The following was written and compiled by members of the Missions Mobilization Team of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. This guide is designed to be used on a mission trip to prepare your group for what you can do when you get back to your community. For more information about this material or about how to get involved in mission work, please contact Ryan Jespersen by phone at (214) 828-5278 or by email at ryan.jespersen@texasbaptists.org. Click here to download this post as a PDF document.

What an incredible joy it has been to serve the Lord together this week. You have been a part of a wonderful journey serving,...

FREDERICKSBURG - You don't have to be an expert cyclist to take part in the week-long Bike Out Hunger event. Our youngest rider this year, Gertie Kate Adair, is only seven years old.

Gertie Kate is from Dripping Springs and she is a proud supporter of her dad, Ben. Last year, when Ben spent the week riding with Bike Out Hunger, Gertie Kate decided that she wanted to join her dad for his next ride.

"I've been waiting a whole year for this," she said. When asked why, she said she really likes to ride her bike and spend time with her dad, and she wanted to help.

She rode 9.42 miles today, right alongside Ben. It was hot and there were...

FREEPORT - Most children look forward to 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon, signaling the end of school and beginning of the weekend. There are roughly 65 hours between Friday afternoon and Monday morning when school starts again. Many kids delight in these hours, but for children who do not have food at home, the hours can be long and hard. While many schools have feeding programs for breakfast and lunch for students in need, the weekends can be a time when food is scarce.

Operation Backpack, supported through the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, seeks to step in and provide homeless and chronically hungry students in the Freeport and Jones...

Recently, I attended the funeral of a good friend and former church member who had a great impact on my life and on the life of his church. When I met Gene Willard, he was about 80-years-old and had been at the church I was becoming pastor of for over 50 years. He had a close relationship with several of the pastors and that would also prove to be true with me.

Gene had his opinion on things like music, how we did church and other things. He was never afraid to share that opinion. Gene, along with a few others, also had the ear of the church. He served on the leadership team and had influence that really went throughout the entire...

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Hands in Service, an organization that receives funding from Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, provides family garden workshops through missions and churches in the poverty belt around the city of Guadalajara and other communities, as well as in rural areas. These workshops help train and educate people to grow their own food to provide better nutrition at a lower cost.

Family Gardens is a project designed and carried out in cooperation with Manos Hermanas, in Guadalajara and numerous other areas where space is available to train and optimize intensive gardens to benefit those in poverty to help them feed their...

CENICERA, Honduras - The kids here in Honduras have stolen my heart! Last night we attended a worship service at a house church in Cenicera, just a few miles from Gracias. When we arrived, I recognized several of the kids from the day before when we were at their house interviewing their parents. One precious girl named Ruby came up and hugged me, followed by another six I had never met before. They looked up at me with these beautiful eyes and told me their names. I hugged them each back and repeatedly asked, "Como estas?" (the only Spanish I really know).

Ruby is nine and currently suffering from leukemia. Her family receives food...

CATULACA, Honduras - Felipe is paralyzed from the waist down after a tragic accident about five years ago. He has undergone eight surgeries and was forced to sell most of his land to pay for the medical procedures. He was the primary breadwinner for his family of six and now many times they wonder how they will eat. The family raises pigs for income and has many chickens roaming around the yard to provide sustenance.

When we arrived at his house today, Felipe, his wife, daughter and brother were overjoyed to see Shannon Hopkins, a missionary with 61 Isaiah Ministries, and his friends. They were also beyond thankful for the food that...

GRACIAS, Honduras - Today, we saw the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering in action, with three men carrying nearly 60 pounds of food on their backs, across a shaky wooden footbridge to a family in need. Shannon Hopkins and his friends, Kevin and Hugo, carried the load of food to a family of 15, living in extreme poverty.

Shannon serves as a missionary with 61 Isaiah Ministries, a ministry that receives funding from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, and seeks to provide food to those in crisis situations in and around Gracias, Honduras. 61 Isaiah Ministries also partners with Ellis Baptist Association to receive support for the work they...

FORT WORTH - This year churches are holding a special offering on Mother's Day to support the Mother's Day Hunger Offering. By uniting the efforts of Texas Baptists, we can raise $1 million this Mother's Day to end hunger one mom at a time. One mom that has received help from this offering is a woman named Kay Schmenk.

Kay Schmenk is a 73-year-old who has been participating in the Senior Supplement Program, a monthly feeding program at Northside Inter-Community Agency (NICA), since 2006. She lives off of her Social Security check each month of less than $700.

NICA, one of several ministries in Fort Worth that receives support through...

BHALUKA UPAZILA, Bangladesh - Conditions were hard for Asma Khatun and her family of five, living in extreme poverty in a small village in Bangladesh. While her husband, Babul Dhaly, worked hard to provide, they did not own any land to plant crops and they were not able to earn enough income to provide three meals a day for their family.

Asma was looking for a way to help her family out of poverty. She heard about a savings group program for women assisted by the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, and soon she began attending classes.

Not only did she learn about business and agriculture, but Asma was also provided with a...

NEW BRAUNFELS - Gloria Mata needed help. Medical bills from her daughter's illness stacked up, and the single mother realized she no longer had enough money to put food on the table for her family of six.

Deliverance came in the form of a voucher from her daughter's school that referred Mata to the Harvest Food Pantry, a ministry of New Braunfels Christian Ministries, which is funded in part through Texas Baptists' special Mother's Day Hunger Offering.

"When I came here, I didn't feel like I was receiving a hand-out. I found a shoulder to lean on," Mata said. "As a mother, it meant so much to me to look in a bag of groceries and see...

When I was 12-years-old, I felt called to ministry. While the specifics of my calling were unclear, I knew I was supposed to spend my life engaged in some type of vocational ministry or mission work. Despite the lack of clarity in my calling, I was able to easily identify and explain my life's purpose to others because of what the church referred to as: the call to special service.

But somewhere along the way many (or if we're being completely honest, most) of us have stopped heeding the special service call. For some unknown reason, we believe people are simply going to hear and discern their calling for themselves - and nothing...

CORPUS CHRISTI - Juan Rena was hungry and hurting when he came to the Crossbridge Fellowship Church food pantry. He had no idea how the Lord would change his life in the following year and lead him to become the director of the ministry that impacted him in so many ways.

Addicted to cocaine and meth for more than 25 years, Juan wanted to find a way to turn his life around and find meaning again. He was also in need of food, which led him to Crossbridge's food pantry just a few streets away from his home where he could come twice a month for essential needs.

As Juan and his girlfriend, Tina, received food each month, they noticed...

DALLAS - Texas Baptists are turning to students to help communities "bounce" back after disasters.

This fall, the convention is launching Bounce, a pre-packaged missions experience through which students minister in the wake of disasters. Bounce makes taking youth teams on mission easy, working out logistics for leaders such as where a group will stay, what they will eat and what they will do on mission.

Students will serve communities through debris removal and cleanup, construction and other ministry projects that will accelerate the bounce back recovery process.

"A lot of folks have a sense of hopelessness after disasters," said...

There are three things you might notice when driving into Crawford, Texas. Perhaps you'll notice the billboard featuring George and Laura Bush, our most famous property owners. Perhaps you'll notice the welcome sign from First Baptist Church, or perhaps you'll notice the city limit sign, which reads, "Pop. 717."

The Crawford community sits about 20 miles west of Waco. Yet, Crawford does not share the big city features of its larger neighbor. Crawford has one post office, one blinking light, one restaurant, and one high school. You get the idea.

Yet, First Baptist Church is a unique blend of business owners, stay-at-home moms...

DALLAS - The world is coming to Texas, landing at the airport with a single bag.

Texas is the leading point of arrival for refugees, who often land with all of their belongings in an issued bag. With this small cache of items, a family will begin a new life in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar customs.

"There's gold in those bags," said John Parsons, World Relief regional director. "Actually, what's in there is worth more than gold."

Beyond the sentimental value of the objects, the bags contain the paperwork needed to live and work in the United States. As refugees settle in a land where little is like the society they fled, those...

A team from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas, just completed a very successful health clinic in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The team worked in cooperation with Iglesia Fuente de Vida and mission coordinator Gloria de la Pena to minister to the needs of the people of the city. The clinic was focused in the four areas of wheelchair ministry, eyeglass ministry, dental care, and health screening.

As a result of this clinic, 53 people received wheelchairs, walkers, or canes. Our dental team provided care for 120 people in cooperation with a great team of dental professionals from Piedras Negras. The health screening team...

Jim Collins is known for a couple of different books, Good to Great, and Built to Last. However, there is another short little read he has called "How the Mighty Fall." This particular volume talks about the rise and fall of really huge companies.

As a pastor, and now a denominational employee, I could not help but see in this book several ways where the church could learn a great lesson. One of the biggest ways Collins points out that the mighty fall is when a company stops tending to the thing that made it great. He gives several examples of this and it is worth the read.

With the escalating disputes in Syria, many are fleeing to neighboring countries to escape the crossfire. Media reports depict the great suffering and desperation, yet "God is doing great things in the midst of a great crisis," said Nabil Costa, executive director of the Lebanese Baptist Society. "The church is in revival in Syria. We are able to reach people we never dreamt of before."

Costa acknowledges that the situation is extremely dangerous, but he has also seen God working in mighty ways and His name being glorified.

The Ignite Your Passion Outreach was a huge success this past weekend. Pastors and Church Leaders in Eagle Pass, Texas had hoped to have a prayer meeting spanning across the bridge (between Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Mexico) which serves as a walkway across the border. They had received permission from city officials but the decision was rescinded at the last minute and therefore the group met in the parking lot at the border and prayed for the border violence and needs of both cities.In spite of this development, over 300 from the community participated in the outreach. The event consisted of a block party, concert...

SAN ANTONIO - The Immigration Service and Aid Center opened its doors on the Baptist University of the Américas campus Aug. 30 to directly help people with their citizenship issues.

The ISAAC center is Texas Baptists' first effort to directly help immigrants work within the law and navigate the complicated path toward citizenship. In addition to helping people resolve their citizenship status, the center will serve as a training institute for people who desire accreditation to help immigrants.

In recent years, the ISAAC Project, a collaborative ministry of BUA and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, has focused on training...

Osvaldo Lerma, River Ministry Coordinator in Brownsville, TX and a few other River Ministry Coordinators were invited to go on a mission trip to Ciudad Victoria the Capital City of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico (about 180 miles from the Texas border) with Lakepointe Baptist Church. Lakepointe has been doing ministry for years in this town but they had not traveled on the road to this town for years because of the threats of violence. Recently the reports of violence have subsided. During the Spring many of the roads on the border that were once unsafe to travel were now free of violence and well protected by the Mexican Military...

For the past four years we have not had Texas Baptist Churches working with us during Spring Break on the Mexican side of the border. This year Lamar BC of Beaumont, TX and FBC Vidor, TX decided to take a step of faith and go to Reynosa, Mexico in the spring. They had a medical clinic and VBS. They attended to 251 people in the medical clinic and had an average of 75 children attend VBS. 29 people made professions of faith, 6 were baptized and 1 new organic church was planted.

Here is a short letter from one of the mission team members:

On Friday we went to a small church, not far from where we were staying. We had an opportunity to

Gary Henneke, Pastor of Frelsburg Baptist Church of New Ulm, Texas joined 140 volunteers who served during the recent "Loving Oklahoma" event. Gary is a trained NOVA Chaplain and joined to see how his training could be of assistance on the field. Gary wrote the below account of his experiences and concluded that Chaplains are very much so needed as Disaster Recovery teams continue to serve in areas affected by disasters. Gary stated "We certainly need to be the "hands and feet" of Jesus during these times but we must not also forget to be the "eyes and ears" of Our Lord during these recovery events." Gary worked with "Field of...

First Baptist Church wondered: Can't it do something very similar in its own community?

Out that spirit, the congregation birthed Mission Drippin', a weeklong effort to invest in their community. This July 28-Aug. 4, mission teams met in homes across the area to pray for their neighbors and neighborhoods. The next day, they prayed specifically for the schools their children attend.

Then they took to the streets, cleaning up part of the Dripping Springs from which the city's name is derived. They cleaned up a...

Texas Baptists gave more than $230,000 to help the hungry through last Spring's Mother's Day offering.

Congregations donated $234,164 through the Mother's Day emphasis for the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, which feeds and assists hungry people through 210 projects including 115 in Texas.

Texas Baptists' Executive Director David Hardage thanked Texas Baptists for their generosity, believing this was a great first step toward the convention's goal of eventually raising $1 million for the hungry on Mother's Day.

Texas Baptists willingness to give throughout the Spring shone brightly as churches not only gave to the Mother's Day...

Texas Baptists are preparing to help people affected by last Spring's tornados through "Loving Oklahoma," five-day concentrated service effort to assist those around Oklahoma City.

Volunteers and teams will be working Aug. 5-10 on projects identified through local long-term disaster recovery officials. The ministry will vary from cleaning up debris to working distribution centers to light construction.

The mission opportunity is made possible by Texas Baptists' Disaster Recovery, through a partnership with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Disaster Response. Officials aim to bring aid, encouragement and the hope of Christ to tornado...

The smell of Texas barbecue tickles noses, makes mouths water and attracts a crowd.

Even in Italy.

A mission team from Coastal Bend Fellowship in Kingsville discovered Texas barbecue is an ideal way to bring Italians together. Partnering with Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board missionaries Charlie and Shannon Worthy, the Texans held two barbecues during a June 7-17 trip.

The team held a barbecue for the missionaries in their neighborhood, where as many as 150 curious people - at least half of whom were non-Christians - came to experience a taste of Texas. The missionaries were in the process of relocating from...

The U.S. Senate has shown both courage and wisdom in passing the sweeping immigration bill. In order to get bipartisan support, the bill had to reflect the concerns of people across the political spectrum, and this has resulted in a bill that addresses the needs of security, business and immigrants.

Scripture teaches us to care about the "stranger" in our midst, and it also teaches us the importance of honoring laws. As a result, those of us who are Christians can rejoice in the fact that these two principles are being honored.

We know, of course, that there are many good people, including Christians, who are concerned about...

WEST -- Media outlets across the nation have told the world how an explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked this small Central Texas town.

But that's not where the city's story ends. Thanks to Texas Baptists, in some ways that's where the story begins. The convention has partnered with First Baptist Church in West to help with recovery efforts since the blast. On June 15-22, hundreds of volunteers from across the state, armed with shovels and servant hearts, partnered for Loving West -- a week-long recovery effort coordinated by Texas Baptists Disaster Recovery.

LITTLE AXE, Okla. - Dressed in a long-sleeved gray shirt ornamented with a small orange OSU emblem, Zach Rowell, stood in the bed of his white truck as the sweltering summer sun beat down relentlessly. Carefully, he pushed a large, maroon corduroy recliner to the back of the bed, securing it with yellow bungee cords.

Rowell traveled June 4 to Little Axe with a youth group of about 25 people from University Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater to help with tornado relief efforts. The group does a service project each Tuesday and chose to help the tornado-ravaged communities. He ended up being an answer to...